Hagane no Kei-chan
by Dedmutt
Summary: Family. It...wasn't really a thing Kaylin was familiar with. But getting herself right, smack-dab next to the young Vongola heir was probably a sure-fire way to change that, whether she anticipated it or not. Probable pairings (like, srsly, it's prolly gonna happen), OCx? dunno. Rated T for angsty trauma and OC's mouth. Also Gokudera's mouth. But mostly OC's mouth.
1. A Little TLC

**A/N:**

**Okay. Okay. Holy shit. This is my first upload, not technically my first fanfic, and definitely not my first story (however I've never finished one before). Personally I prefer longer chapters, but I now realize how AWFUL it is to write long chapters.**

**Seriously, whoever writes long chapters is amazing. Get yerself some pancakes.**

**Anyways, in my humble opinion as a writer/reader, the writing of this story isn't absoluteshit. That said, I am very, VERY open to any and all criticism. Hell, since I have no self esteem, I'll even take flames. But please bear in mind that I have three and a half chapters including this one already written. If your suggestion bears truth and if I can work with it, I'll see what I can do to change and I'll even see about giving you props in the author's note! How 'bout that?!**

Okay, so here's a bit of a key for Kaylin's (OC's) speech patterns.

**"This is her speaking in English. **_**Itallics mean she's really speaking English**_**. With oomph."**

"This means she is speaking in regular Japanese."

**This is her thinking specifically in English in 1st person.**

**'This is the same in 3rd person.'**

The thinking part doesn't really matter so I'll probably get lazy about that. Sorry.

OKAY. Here you go. PLEASE leave even a short review. I'll take every one into consideration.

ps beta-read for beta-read hit me up ;D

**[Edit: 5/16/16] I did, indeed get lazy about it. Sorry not sorry. Also, I take back the thing about flames. I now realize that they don't generally involve actually constructive criticism.**

* * *

"Ne, ne, did you hear? Apparently there's going to be a transfer student today."

Tsuna's ears perked up. _He _hadn't heard, yet.

"Oh, you heard that, too? I thought it might be a rumor since it's so early in the year..."

"No, I heard it, too! The teachers were talking about it in the lounge when I walked by."

So it was true? Like the others, Tsuna wondered what they'd be like. He listened further to the small crowd at the front of the class while he settled down into his seat. (He was actually on time today.)

"I heard it was a pretty foreign girl!"

"Eeh? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, I heard it myself!"

"I also heard she's from America."

"Eeeh? Do you think she'll be scary, then?"

"I doubt a pretty girl would be scary..."

"You can't be sure of something like that just because of someone's looks, you know."

"Don't Americans have short tempers, though?"

"It's probably a lack of calcium..."

"Probably."

"Nobody wants to talk about calcium!"

"I heard from someone that she has a mysterious background..."

"Eh? That definitely sounds like a rumor! Where did you hear that?"

_Giggles._ "Maybe she's in the mafia~"

Tsuna scoffed a little to himself; what kind of middle schooler would be in the mafia?

The door to the classroom slid open and everyone scampered to their seats, gossiping cut short. The teacher, one Nezu-sensei (Tsuna inwardly cringed at the teacher that seemed to take pleasure in humiliating him), walked to the podium and settled in, sighing like he knew this would be a long day. He then cleared his throat and glared at the class, particularly Tsuna, for whatever reason.

"Stand."

_Collective scrape._

"Bow."

_Whoosh._

"Be seated."

_Disjointed scrapes and plops._

Nezu cleared his throat again, looking like the proceedings would be beneath him. "As I'm sure many of you are aware, a transfer student will be joining the class today." He waited impatiently for the brief whispers to die down. "They are a transfer student from America." More whispers. "Now, their Japanese may not be very good, but you are nonetheless expected to make them comfortable and help them in any way you can." He sighed and turned his head to the door.

"You may come in," he called.

Though it was quiet before, there was more of a hush as the door rattled a bit. There was a pause and a disgruntled mutter behind the door, breaking the tense atmosphere for a second. Tsuna sweatdropped. But everyone stiffened again when the door (successfully) slid open. Tsuna cringed as horrible scenarios automatically flew through his mind as he recalled his classmates' musings of how scary she could be.

As the door slid open everyone straightened in anticipation. A trouser-clad leg swung into view, and a few students blinked. Were the rumors mistaken, then? But as the rest of the person in question stepped in, those suspicions were promptly squashed.

Said transfer student wore the male uniform: normal slacks and the simple short-sleeved version of the school dress shirt, a wristband affixed below the right elbow - no lazer in sight. Under the uniform was a distinctly feminine figure. Added to that, the long, blood red hair braided down her back and the features of her face made her gender _extremely_ hard to miss.

She reached the teacher's side and swung her gaze of cold steel to the students. Tsuna jerked a little in his seat, as did a few classmates; those eyes were _intense! _It almost looked like she was glaring at them for simply existing. In contrast to her (seemingly) pissed off look, she clasped her hands in front of her and seemed to be fidgeting...

Tsuna noticed this, of course, and sweatdropped. _Is she angry or nervous?_

Nezu spoke after the foreign student suffered for a few seconds.

"You may introduce yourself, now."

The girl stiffened and swallowed. The class, still miraculously silent, leaned forward with bated breath.

* * *

I was nearly positive my heart was palpitating as the teacher (whose name I hadn't bothered to learn yet) called me into the classroom. I stiffened. I heard reassuring squeaks from little Hina inside of my school case. That was only enough to allow me to move. But, it _was _enough.

I reached forward with a shaky hand and gripped the unusual handle and pulled.

_Sliding door._

**"Oh, Son of a bitch..."**

I slowly _slid_ the door open, manually breathing so I didn't faint. It had been so damn _long_ since I was in any kind of school environment. _And_ these kids were all Japanese. Hina had assured me that my accent wasn't absolutely horrendous, but what did she know? She couldn't physically _speak_ it.

I tried to square my shoulders and swung my foot forward. It seemed there was a hush in the classroom, and that only made it worse. I struggled to keep my steps smooth and non-rushed. No need to trip.

No immediate laughter. Good. No sniffs of disdain. Also good. No one spontaneously combusting. Very good!

All too quickly it was time for me to turn and face the possibly vicious, ravenous, bloodthirsty, _demonic_-

Struggling to keep my face even, I stared. They stared back. Although it looked like some of them twitched.

_Don't panic don't panic don't panic don't panic-_

"You may introduce yourself, now."

I stiffened. My mouth instantaneously went dry. I swallowed.

_Dear gods of the land and Buddha, don't _panic,_ Kaylin!_

I took a deep breath. Deeper breath. Held it. Ignored the inquisitive stares of the maybe-demon spawn. No, they're just middle schoolers, they can't be that bad. Probably. Remember to enunciate your words. Roll the 'r's. At _least_ speak politely for the introductions, holy shit.

_Exhale._

"My name is Steele, Kaylin. Pleased to meet you."

* * *

There was immediately a small eruption of whispers as the new student introduced herself and bowed politely.

"Look at her hair!"

"I told you she was pretty."

"She doesn't _seem_ scary..."

"But look at here eyes! She was glaring the second she walked in!"

"She's clearly just nervous."

"She's tall for a girl!"

"Holy shit, don't you think she's a babe?"

"Eh? You're into that type?"

"But look!"

"Well, her hair is really pretty."

"Are you blind? So's her face!"

"Ah, I think she's blushing." The students hushed somewhat.

Indeed, her body was stiff and she seemed to be scowling. There was _just _a dusting of pink on her cheeks and nose.

_She _is _kind of cute like that. _Tsuna blinked at the thought and shook his head fervently. He glanced at Kyoko who sat near the door at the front of the classroom. She was smiling sweetly, like she usually did. Tsuna flushed a little and looked back at the board. _Yeah, I definitely like Kyoko-chan._

* * *

_Why are these idiots freaking out just because I'm a foreigner? _Some of the comments I heard made me cringe. _It's my hair, isn't it? Maybe I should have dyed it, after all..._

I inwardly shook my head and cleared my thougths. Not happening. The brats would get used to it sooner or later.

My attention was immediately drawn to a fuzzy, shaking head. I blinked.

_Assess._

_Age, approximately 13 years old. Pre-pubescent. Height, approximately 160 cm. Weight, under 50 kilograms. Muscle mass, minimal. By studying body posture and language, as well as physiological phenomena such as pulse and apparent blood pressure, it can be assumed that this male is timid in nature, but easily agitated. Current emotional state seems to be flustered._

_Potential threat: zero._

_Current threat: zero._

_Presumed identity from memorized images and reports of demeanor:_

_Sawada Tsunayoshi._

I blinked. I quickly averted my gaze to avoid staring. That would be my target. _No,_ I thought, _no more targets. Not anymore._ That would be the individual I would be watching and/or guarding for a while. At least until his candidacy is announced, as I knew it would be. _The Ninth doesn't really have any other options. _Then I'd see what I could do about joining the family.

A cleared throat. I shifted my eyes to the teacher. While that Assessment only took about 4 seconds (I was rusty, okay?), I paused long enough to appear to be dawdling. He opened his mouth to speak, but I moved before he got the chance to say much.

"Steele-san-" he started.

I shot him a look that _maybe_ wouldn't be construed as a complete glare and interrupted him. "I'll take my seat, now." I walked over to an empty seat behind and to the left of Tsuna (I learned from my brief contact with his father that that's what he was generally called). I took my seat and gave the nearly-sputtering teacher a polite look while tilting my head in a _hopefully _innocent and totally _not challenging_ way. Maybe that'd convince him that I simply didn't expect to not pick my own seat.

There were a few whispers and glances at me, a few snickers. I quickly glanced to Tsuna, who seemed to be in dead-panned disbelief. He noticed my attention and "hiiee"d a little, swinging his head around to face forward. Oops.

_...What's a "hiiee"?_

The (stupid-looking) teacher closed his mouth and seemed to come to some conclusion that I'm sure was somehow wrong. Oh, good. He promptly sneered at me and turned around to begin writing on the board, like the whole thing didn't happen.

Okay, I decided right then that I didn't care if I was on his good side or not. I was pretty sure he was a douchebag. Whatever. I pulled out my small rectangular instant-translation device. I assumed Asshat-sensei was informed of my hiragana/katakana/kanji ineptitude.

I'm working on it, okay?

* * *

Lunch was announced and I unceremoniously dropped my head to my desk with a great _thunk._ I heard Tsuna _"hiiee!" _and I chuckled quietly. Then my shoulders slumped some more and I raised my forehead from the desk just to drop it again with another _thunk._

_I pray for the soul of whoever has to fix this kid up to be a proper mafia boss._

I frowned a bit for Tsuna as well. I glanced at him through my long fringe as he began to pull out his wallet.

_This boy might lose some of his innocence all too early, too. Like I did._

I shook my head at the thought. Although he didn't ask for it, it _was _a great honor... I frowned at that thought, too. _Honor doesn't mean shit unless one chooses it._

Well. There wasn't a lot that could be done about it. He was going to be in the thick of the mafia world whether he wanted to be or not. He didn't get a choice. My frown deepened. That's partly what I came here for, though. Soften the blow. Watch his back. Among other things that I wasn't aware of, yet, I'm sure. So many unknown factors that I can barely begin to take into account. I'm sure the Ninth will send someone more than qualified.

Tsuna seemed to be counting money in his wallet. _Maybe it's a good thing he doesn't know, yet. Let him live normally for as long as he can. Give him more of a childhood than I had, at least._

I smirked at myself as Tsuna got up and began to walk to a door of the classroom. _I sound like a fretful parent._

I sat up and waited until he was out the door to follow him. I glanced at a few curious students by the door at the back of the classroom that Tsuna took. They flinched a little. I turned away and frowned as I reopened the door that he had closed. _What's with these guys?_

I closed the door behind me and spotted Tsuna off to my right. _May as well get this thing started,_ I thought to myself, ignoring the anxiety in my chest at talking to someone of my own volition, something I haven't done properly in a long time.

I told my adrenal glands to shut _up_ and got a move on. Trying not to seem so eager that I was creepy, I walk/jogged up behind him and gave him a quick tap on his shoulder. He turned with a curious look on his face. Until he saw mine, then he twitched violently and _"hiiee!"d, _shrinking away from me.

I blinked. "**Um, **Tsuna, right?" I tried a small (but genuine, I swear!) smile for him.

He blinked, but didn't relax much, although, I noted, he didn't back away any more. "H-hai?" His voice wavered.

"Are you headed to the school store?"

He straightened just a little. "Y-yes...?" His wary gaze turned more questioning. _Good,_ I thought, _progress._

I smiled a little more, "Would you mind showing me the way? I didn't get much time to look around the school, earlier, and I forgot to bring any lunch." My smile turned sheepish.

He seemed mildly bewildered as he answered, "Um, okay - sure...?" I grinned a bit at my small success and scampered to walk beside him as he began forward again.

I thought of starting up conversation, maybe discuss the menu of the store, but was surprised whe he said something himself.

"You're... Steele-san, right?"

I cringed. "Oh, no no no, that's too formal. Makes me nervous. Just 'Kaylin` is fine. In fact, it's prefered."

Tsuna sweatdropped, but conceded, "Th-then... Kaylin-san..."

"No '-san.'"

"...K-Kaylin."

I smiled, satisfied. There was a bit of silence between us then. I glanced around at the socializing students in the hall, or others heading to the store or elsewhere to eat their lunch. Both Tsuna and I seemed to be drawing attention.

I raised my eyebrow a little at some of the comments.

"Hey, isn't that the transfer student?"

"What's she doing with Dame-Tsuna?"

"More like, what's Dame-Tsuna doing around _her?"_

This incensed my nerves a little and I sent a sharp look that particular student's way. Whispers everywhere ceased and said particular student stiffened. I blinked at the exaggerated reaction and mentally shrugged.

**"Freakin' gossipy brats..." **I muttered under my breath.

Tsuna, meanwhile, was a little slumped with a dead-panned look on his face. He seemed to sigh dejectedly. I frowned. I think I was beginning to gather the situation here.

We shortly arrived at the store, where there was a very small crowd around the counter. "Any suggestions?" I asked Tsuna without looking at him, already scanning the menu.

He considered for a second. "The sandwiches here aren't too ba-"

"Melon bread!" I exclaimed, grinning. I glanced down to Tsuna, who jumped in alarm, and bounced on my toes, ignoring the startled stares of various pedestrian students.

"I've always wanted to try melon bread!" I beamed. There were some bewildered and amused whispers at my enthusiasm and Tsuna sweat-dropped.

"I guess that's pretty good, too..." He seemed to be getting a little twitchy.

I heard some snickers behind us and my smile immediately faded as I swiveled on my heel to fully face whoever decided that whatever this was was funny. I wanted it made immediately clear that I didn't take that kind of shit.

"Is there a problem?" My voice was steely as I scanned the crowd. The laughs promptly disappeared and I spotted some near-terrified looking boys in a huddle on one side. I held eye-contact until the scuttled away and around a corner.

I huffed back around and saw a stiff looking Tsuna who immediately jumped and _"hiiee"_d when our eyes met. I blinked as he quickly spun around and tossed some money on the counter before speeding off with a "I'll be going back, now!" over his shoulder.

There were a few (not ill-natured) laughs and I inwardly sighed at myself as I bought a few melon breads and two half-pints of milk.

_Well, _that _certainly went well. _I shrugged and started looking for a path to the courtyard. I figured I'd give him a chance to get over his apparent heart attack.

Besides, the weather was nice today.

* * *

Luckily for my PE class, the weather was still nice when we went outside for some soccer the next day. I bounced on my toes in anticipation. I liked soccer. I was by no means a star player, but it was _fun. _Despite my eagerness, I faltered in my stretching.

It'd just be a quick game of soccer, the game won't last longer than forty-five minutes tops... I should be okay, right? I unconsciously placed a hand on my stomach. There'd been very little pain today, even after having just settled in to her apartment. Just a short game, and I'll sick to support and defense. I'll rest up afterwards if I need to.

_I'll allow myself this on my first day of the job._ I grinned to myself.

"Kyoko-chan, do you want to be team captain?"

While keeping one ear open for the boys' team on the other field, I tuned into the situation at hand. A pretty girl with short, light brown hair was wide-eyed with surprise as she pointed to herself (cutely).

"Eh? Me?" She blinked.

"Do you not want to?" Asked a girl with long, straight hair.

The pretty girl, Kyoko-chan, tilted her haid (cutely). "Wouldn't Haruka-chan be better? Or," she gasped and clapped her hands (cutely). To my immense surprise, she spun around to beam at me, "why not Kaylin-chan?"

...

**"Wait, what? **Err- _me?" _I was pretty sure I was gaping when a few girls giggled.

Kyoko chirped, "Yeah!"

"B-but, um-"

"It's a good way to get you more personally involved with the class!" She continued beaming and - _were those sparkles?_

I looked around at the rest of the girls with wide eyes and stiff shoulders. _Dear Buddha and gods of the land don't make me do this._ One girl saw my plight and took pity, but couldn't stifle the giggle in her throat, "I think she's shy, Kyoko-chan."

"Eeeh?" Kyoko blinked owlishly at me in question. "Do you not want to?"

I frantically waved my hands in front of my face. "I-I, um, I'd really rather not- Let's go with Haruka-chan, after all, yeah?"

An athletic-looking girl, apparently Haruka, rolled her eyes with a smile. "Fine, I'll do it, again. Saya, be the other captain?"

A petite, short haired girl with freckles piped up with a "hai, hai!" and a raised hand. I heaved a sigh in relief._ Too much trouble. Too much attention._

Saya shuffled her feet around a soccer ball that I hadn't noticed and passed it over to me, and I reflexively stopped it with my foot. She grinned at me and cackled, "Then I pick Kei-chan!"

I blinked.

...

"Kei-chan?"

Saya threw me a shit-eating grin and gave an affirmative. "Nn! I almost bit my tongue when I said your name before, so now you're Kei-chan!" She stated proudly with her hands on her hips, head held high.

Haruka wacked her with the back of her hand. "That's not something to look so proud for." Saya just grinned wider. (That looked like it hurt.)

Haruka sighed, then turned to face the rest of the girls and began the process of picking teams.

I wilted once relieved of the pressure and tucked the ball under my arm. Then I remembered my self-appointed charge, and glanced over to the boys' group. The two groups were still relatively close, so I could hear a...curious exchange between two somewhat-agitated boys with a rather tall individual seemingly attempting to mediate. There was a tired looking Tsuna over to the side.

"Just take him already!"

"No! I don't want my team to lose just because of him! We have a good team, this time!"

I frowned.

"We don't want him over here!"

"We don't want him, either!"

"Well, someone has to take him."

"Can't he just sit out?"

Oh, he didn't.

"The teams aren't even, though, he can be on-"

"Just sit out, Dame-Tsuna!"

My eyes narrowed dangerously and my cheek spasmed. Without thinking even for a second, I wound my arm back launched the soccer ball in my hands at the head of the boy who made that last remark. It connected with a resounding _smack_.

_Oops._

It bounced off of the boys head and, with apparently very quick reflexes, the tallest boy snatched it out of the air before it could sail away. He blinked in my direction with a small surprised frown.

**"Ah, shit."** I started jogging over to the boys to retrieve the ball. "Sorry! My hand slipped!"

"What the- _how could your hand slipping result in the ball flying fifteen meters away?!" _The boy I hit yelled while cradling his head.

"**Fucking hell, **I _said _I was sorry!" I stopped running to stomp my foot, crossing my arms with a huff. I wasn't really sorry. At all.

The taller boy blinked and laughed as he jogged to meet me halfway.

"That was a great through, you know!" He said with a grin as he held the ball out to me.

I pouted a little and snatched the ball from him. "I didn't _mean _to... Okay, that's a lie, but they were being jerks!"

He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I tried to calm them down, but it usually happens no matter what I do..."

I leaned around his shoulder and shot a glare at the two offending idiots.

"But you should think about joining the baseball club!" He was beaming proudly. "You'd be a great addition!"

I leaned back (he was taller than me by about four inches despite being (I assumed) younger than me) and appraised him. "I take it you're in the baseball club?" I more or less stated with a raised eyebrow. He certainly looked like the athletic type.

"Ha ha, you guessed?"

I was about to respond when a call was heard from behind me, "Kei-chan, hurry with the ball, we're ready to play!" I dead-panned at the nickname. I hoped that didn't stick.

But as if to violently tap dance all over my hopes, the boy in front of me laughed and took a step back. "Seriously think about joining the baseball club!" He turned and waved. "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi, by the way. Later, Kei-chan!" And he jogged back to his team.

"Bu-but my name-" I was inturrupted as someone grabbed the ball from me and hauled me by the arm back to the girls' field.

"Geez, Kei-chan, you're so slow!" Saya complained with a huff.

"But my _name_-"

"Too late, it stuck," Saya happily (smugly) informed me. I groaned and tried my best to resign myself to my fate. Poorly.

**"Oh, come **_**on.**_**"**

* * *

The game was nearing its end, as time was almost up, and there was next to no pain in my chest. The team needed a point to break the tie. In a moment of competitiveness, I decided to abandon my position as the defense and make sure that damn ball hit net.

Feeling a bit of the thrill that I had missed since my previous mafia days stalled, I launched forward and snagged the ball out from under an opponent's feet. As they were expecting me to pass the ball to a forward, since I had been the entire game, there was only a person or two trying to get the ball back from me directly as opposed to intercepting the anticipated pass.

That left the field wide open for me to run the fuck away with that ball.

Sparing no time to even grin, I tore across the field at a full tilt sprint, leaving most of the players (even those on my team) behind. For about a second, at least.

Saya, who I had quickly learned was in the soccer club caught on quick chased after me in support. Unfortunately, Haruka (also in the club) caught on just as quickly and caught_ up _just as quickly and took up position to guard me. I had learned that she was also rather good at stealing the ball.

_Well, shit._

When she hopped to my front to try and sweep the ball out from under me, I took an honestly kind of big chance, considering I didn't _actually_ know the move I was about to attempt.

I feinted trying to dodge around her to the left. I skidded to a halt as I flicked my left ankle back, sending the ball behind me. I turned in half a second with the foot I kicked with as a pivot and launched the ball (clumsily) to Saya, whom the defense was approaching. She changed direction a bit to compensate for my little blunder.

Luckily, the ball reached her before they did, and she grinned as I danced to the left and around Haruka who had instinctively gone to my right after the ball. Just a split second before the defense reached her, she passed it back to me and, without underestimating Haruka's speed, I didn't even stop to dribble the ball forward anymore before I sent the ball flying towards the net.

There was a collective intake of breath in both teams as we watched the goalie make a mad leap for the ball, going nearly horizontal to the ground.

...

She caught it.

**"Oh, **_**come on!" **_I threw my hands in the air as the coach called the game.

I threw my head back and groaned loudly at the sky and didn't notice the speeding teenager _barreling _towards me.

I was promptly glomped and assaulted via voice in my ear.

"Kei-chan, that was _amazing!_" Saya squealed beside me.

**"Fucking hell, **Saya, don't shout in my ear!" I shouted just as loudly to try and hide my embarrassment at the praise.

She only leaned back a little and continued, "That was so _intense!_ You even avoided Haruka! _Twice!" _She was absolutely radiating admiration at me even as she caught her breath. "I can barely manage that myself!"

Haruka, having just been knocked to the side by Saya laughed at that. "She's not even kidding, you know. I'm usually on her ass so fast she trips over her own feet half the time." She grinned at Saya's puffed out cheeks, then looked to me. "That aside, though, that really was a great play, Kei-chan." She eyed me in appraisal.

Prying myself out of Saya's vice-grip, I mumbled, "U-um, thanks, but I didn't even make it past the goalie-"

"That's hardly the point!" Saya locked eyes with me and with the straightest face said, "You should join the soccer club."

I'm sure I looked horrified when I began to object before a voice chimed in.

"I think she should join the baseball club."

I swung my head around, aghast to see Yamamoto looking excitedly at me.

"No, I'm-" I was interrupted again as Saya pulled me away possessively, forcing herself between Yamamoto and me.

"Don't you go recruiting her, now! I asked first!"

"Um, actually-"

"I asked her before the game even started, though."

Saya gasped, scandalized. "You _cheater_!"

I quickly ducked out from under Saya's arms and sidestepped away while she was distracted with Yamamoto. I kept backing away, making sure they were preoccupied before I finally turned.

I was immediately surprised when I saw a lump over in the other field. _Um. _I tiptoed closer, then blinked when I realized it was Tsuna lying in a heap in the grass. I started forward over to him before I paused, remembering how he ran from me like I was holding an axe in one hand and a severed head in the other yesterday.

..._I'm sure more than twenty-four hours is enough for him to recover._

I walked over to him and cast a glance over my shoulder. Everyone was making their way inside, Saya one-sidedly arguing with a smiling Yamamoto while nearing the door. Assured that the cost was clear, I leaned down and poked Tsuna's fluffy head. I had to lean back as he turned his head to look at me and sprung to his feet, standing at attention.

"Hiiie! Ste- K-Kaylin!"

I blinked at his surprise, but smiled as I noted that he used my first name."You remembered to call me Kaylin," I pointed out, trying easy conversation.

He blinked at me this time. "Y-yeah..."

I rolled my eyes and clapped his shoulder once. "Chill out, Tsuna, I won't maul you."

He looked entirely unconvinced as he replied, "Y-yeah..."

I inwardly deadpanned and sighed. This was going to require some work. And probably some TLC.

* * *

**And dear god there it is.**

**Again, any and all reviews would be greatly appreciated. Even just a few words. I'll work out upload times if I see that this is even somewhat well-recieved.**

**WELL, THEN.**

**ADIEU~**

**[Edit: 5/16/16] **I fixed a few errors in grammar and some weird thing with vegitables in plants. Don't ask. I'll be doing some editing in a few later chapters, one change of which will likely up the maturity rating to 'M,' primarily because of gore.

So, that's coming soon. Might even be done before you read this edit!


	2. A Warning Shot

**A/N:**

**Okay, I can't help myself. Here's chapter two!**

**Honestly, the beginning of this one is a little iffy for me, but whatever. Onwards and upwards!**

**AND GUESS WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED! I got a favorite! (2, actually)**

**I got over-excited and PM'd them with a thank you.**

**Shoutout to RubyRedSpiderLily! She seems like an awesome person and has a few stories of her own up her sleeve, so check 'em out! Thank you again, you beautiful motherfucker!**

**Anyhoo~**

Oh, when Kaylin speaks in bold, she's talking in English. Just a reminder.

**[Edit: 5/16/16] **Just tweaked it a bit, nothing big. Tell me if any errors bug you, yeah?

* * *

You know, when I came here to wait for Tsuna's candidacy to be announced, I didn't expect to be shot at _literally four days _after arriving.

I expected a little more of a preamble, you know? A little more civilian living before Tsuna's wellbeing was threatened. Or mine, for that matter. A little more getting to know each other before I took up the roll as human meat shield of the family. A little bit of actual vacation time. That wasn't so unreasonable of me to expect, was it?

Well, apparent-fucking-ly it was.

Rude.

I jogged all the way to school, as I had slept in because _someone _forgot to wake me up. As the diurnal one in our duo, I sort of figured Hina, the nocturnal one, would wake me up of a morning when she came back from her information gathering escapades. Surely _that _wasn't too much to ask, was it?

Well, _apparent-fucking-ly it was._

_"How am I supposed to know to wake you up? I can't sense time!"_

"And how was I supposed to know that?"

_"I thought you'd have figured that out by now!"_

Or some excuse like that.

The gall of some rodents.

Well, despite being more or less sabotaged by a rat, I made it to school without being late. In fact, I had a few minutes to spare. So I meandered my way to the classroom, Hina having hidden herself away into my schoolbag, my hands tucked comfortably behind my neck.

"Hey, someone outside is in their underwear!"

...What?

"No way, isn't that Dame-Tsuna?"

...Wait, _what?_

"What the hell is he doing?"

Oh dear god. I jogged the rest of the way to the classroom and slid the door open to see a small crowd at the windows looking over the front of the school grounds. I padded over to the window, wondering at all the hubbub.

"Scoot over, scoot over, lemme see." I tried to avoid stepping on toes as I weasled my way to the windows, suppressing a shiver at being surrounded be so many people. Well, at least I was taller than more than half of the kids around me.

I blinked once and gaped as I saw - _Kyoko? -_\- running away towards the school building. Away from Tsuna. **"Holy shit, what did he do?"**

I doubt anyone understood much of that, but someone answered anyways, "I think he just confessed to Kyoko-chan!"

I blanched as I stared at the boxer-clad kid at the school gate. What the hell's gotten into him? I'd only known him for a few days, but it's blatantly obvious that he was _not _outgoing.

I blinked and leaned forward, squinting at a...strange flickering at Tsuna's forehead. As soon as I saw it, though, it disappeared.

I furrowed my brow in thought. Flickering, flickering...

Tsuna clutched his head in his hands and promptly started freaking out. Did he not expect to freak her out if he confesses to her in his boxers?

"Look, it's Mochida-senpai!"

"Isn't he dating Kyoko-chan?"

I cringed as (apparently) Mochida gave Tsuna one good punch, but I didn't give it much more attention (Tsuna was a wimp, not made of glass) as I thought.

Flickering, flickering..._flickering...! Oh, shit._

I withheld a curse as I reached the most likely conclusion. That could only have been a Dying Will flame! Emitting so much energy that his clothes ripped off, doing something that he'd normally never do, the flame on the forehead - it explained everything.

But one can't normally tap into that kind of power by one's self - son of a bitch! Was someone from the family here already?

The crowd, sensing that the fuss was over, moved away and back towards their desks. I, however, stayed, watching Tsuna and the surrounding area like a hawk.

As I should have been, since someone strange suddenly showed up at Tsuna's side. It was a small individual dressed in what looked like a suit and - _is that a fedora?_ A yellow pacifier bigger than the kid's fist hung at his neck.

Instincts flaring, I opened the window and leaned out as much as I could while keeping my center of gravity inside. I vaguely heard someone cautioning me, but I ignored them as I locked my limbs into place.

_Assess_

_Age, approximately 1 year. Height, exactly 40 cm. Weight, less than 40 kg. Muscle mass, difficult to determine. Body posture and facial expressions difficult to determine, but physiological phenomena such as pulse and blood pressure indicate a calm emotional state. Logically speaking, threat should be minimal. Experience and intuition indicate otherwise._

_Potential threat: exponential._

_Current threat: undetermined._

_Presumed identity: undetermined._

_Alert_

I blinked and hissed through my teeth, fine hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

The kid was looking right at me.

In the four or so seconds it took me to Assess him, he noted my presence out of the many in the classrooms.

Albeit I was halfway out a window.

Something told me he was assessing me, as well, though in a different way, and as if I had stumbled right in front of a napping beast, my instincts had me frozen on the spot.

_Don't break eye contact._

Even as a presence strode up to Tsuna, who was yelling at the strange new kid, who was effectively ignoring him, neither of us broke eye contact. A cold sweat began to collect at my hairline.

_Alert_

But the stare off was interrupted by Tsuna's fleeing form passing between our line of sight and the tension was broken. I blinked and glanced at the new presence. It seemed to be a boy about my age. I inwardly sighed at the headache I was about to give myself.

_Assess_

_Age, approximately 15. Height, approximately 170 cm. Weight, less than 60 kg. Muscle mass, difficult to determine. Body posture and facial expression are alarming. This coupled with physiological phenomena indicate a volatile personality. Current emotional state reflects that of a...wild animal prowling its territory._

_Alert_

_Potential threat: great._

_Current threat: moderate._

_Alert_

_Presumed identity: unknown._

_Alert_

I blinked and started sweating for real.

Now _this _guy was staring me down. But this was different. It was as if I were a wounded prey animal and a tiger with a craving for _me _in particular found me at its watering hole. My instincts told me to bail. And I promptly ignored them, for whatever godforsaken reason.

I flexed my apparently atrophied backbone and stood up straight, pulling the window closed. I looked to the kid, but he was gone. I had begun to scan the area for wherever the kid had gone, but a bunch of laughter behind me caught my attention.

I blinked as Tsuna stood at the doorway looking like he wanted to dig his own grave and curl up in it. I grimaced as I saw his gaze shift to Kyoko, who had apparently found her way into the classroom while I was having my battle of wills. The poor girl looked like she didn't know what to do with herself.

Some students gathered in front of Tsuna and jeered at him. My hackles rose.

"It's the pants-man!"

_"Sasagawa Kyoko, please go out with me!" _

"Confession of love!" They mocked.

"You were rejected vehemently!" I scoffed. _Look at Kyoko's face! That's clearly not what happened! _I couldn't say anything though, because that may just make the situation worse. So I stood there, uselessly frowning.

Luckily, it didn't go on for long anyways, as someone in the hall demanded Tsuna's (and everyone else's) attention.

"Mochida-san's looking for you in the gym, Dame-Tsuna." I grimaced. That didn't sound good. Tsuna took a terrified step back.

"Don't think you can get out of this!" And with that they hauled him off forcibly, presumably to the gymnasium. The entire class followed, and even Kyoko was hauled off to watch this "fight for her honor" by her friend Hana.

I sucked in air through my teeth as I furiously debated with myself hopping from one foot to the other. I'd normally never bother to watch something this over the top and pointless, but I couldn't just leave Tsuna by himself! (Even though he didn't know I'm on his side, I imagined.) I rolled my eyes and groaned, resolving to chase after the last of the class (and apparently the rest of the damn student body) off to the gym.

Until, of course, I noticed Tsuna trudging by himself through the hallway, h the distinct look like he was thinking horrible things about himself. You could just see the self-deprecating thoughts written clearly on his face.

Aw, geez.

He was about to step into the boys' bathroom when I called to him before I could stop myself from acting on a sudden impulse.

"Yo, Tsuna!" He jumped as I jogged over to him.

"K-Kaylin!" At first, he just looked nervous as hell, but then he heaved a great sigh and hung his head in what looked like defeat.

I frowned. His self-esteem issues ran deep. I tilted my head at him.

"Aren't you gonna go?" He jumped again and looked at me incredulously.

"Of course I can't go!" My frown deepened and he sighed again. "There's no way I'll win - I'll only embarrass myself and get hurt!"

"No, I doubt you will win." He slumped again, not looking surprised at all that I said that. "Not like that, you won't." He glanced up at me with a frown. "Besides, winning is hardly the point, here."

He looked incredulous again, so I continued. "You should go _because _Kyoko will be watching." He widened his eyes at me, surprised. I leaned forward like I was about to let him in on some grand conspiracy. "Do you want some advice from me, as a girl?"

He looked wary, but continued listening. "It's a lot cooler to struggle and lose than to run away without even trying." Tsuna straightened, brow still furrowed. _Just another push..._

I grinned at him. "Win or lose, you'll have a place in Kyoko's heart forever."

Tsuna was still for a moment, looking at the ground and visibly thinking over my words. Then he clenched his fists, clearly making up his mind. He gave me a determined nod and, without a word, turned on his heel and ran down the hallway. I pumped my fist with a victorious (but hushed) **"Yes!" **And placed my hands on my hips, watching his retreating form.

* * *

A baby in a fedora listened to the exchange thoughtfully. He had been planning to say roughly the same thing as soon as Tsuna tried to escape out the bathroom window, as the baby knew he would. He listened as footsteps sounded and faded (almost definitely Tsuna). The girl who had been giving him the small pep talk let out a triumphant exclamation, in English, he noted, and he smirked.

**"Oh - shit," **the girl - Tsuna had called her "Kaylin" - cursed, then sped off after his student, presumably to watch his fight. The baby affixed his fedora more firmly onto his head and began to make his own way to the gymnasium.

"Well said."

* * *

Tsuna was already standing in front of Mochida by the time I got to the gym. I let out a low whistle as I made my way further into the building. I wasn't kidding when I said the entire student body were making their way to the area to watch. I scanned the crowd and spotted Kyoko and Hana and jogged over to them, trying to keep the rest of the crowd at least limited to one side of me. I noted offhandedly that Yamamoto was standing a little to the right.

I situated myself roughly between the two parties.

I bit my lip. I was still new here, but I had already gathered the reason people called Tsuna "dame." He...kind of was. I was, at least a little, worried for him. He would undoubtedly lose on his own. It was just a measure of "how much?"

Mochida shouted with an air of arrogance, "So you dared to show up!" Tsuna clenched his fists and tensed. He clearly didn't come here to win. He knew what he was getting himself into.

"But don't worry!" Mochida continued, "the match is simple enough that even an idiot like you can understand it." I 'tch''d. "You're a novice at kendo! All you have to do to win is score one point off of me. If you can't, you lose. The prize is, of course," he swung his sword around to point it at Kyoko, who jumped."

"Sasagawa Kyoko!" She balked.

"P-prize?!"

**"What the hell?!" **I demanded. Several people, whom I ignored, looked startled by my sudden exclamation.

"What an ass," even Hana tossed in.

Then I saw movement to my right and turned just as Yamamoto tossed a practice sword Tsuna's way.

"Tsuna, here!" He fumbled, but managed to catch it.

**"Nice!" **I grinned at Yamamoto, walked back over to stand beside me.

"Good luck, Sawada-kun!" Everyone turned to Kyoko in surprise, Mochida spinning to gape at her in disbelief. I grinned and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Hurry up and start, _senpai._" I spat, the way I addressed him absolutely _dripping _in sarcasm. He scowled at me, but turned to Tsuna, wantonly swinging his sword in his direction. Tsuna jerked.

"Prepare yourself!"

And with that, the match started.

And Tsuna promptly _panicked_.

He turned tail and _ran_ from Mochida, who was swinging at him like mad. The audience immediately started laughing and jeering.

"Look! He's still Dame-Tsuna, after all!"

I whipped my head around to scowl at the general direction of that particular shout. The crowd only quieted for a second before resuming its laughs. I 'tch'd and turned back to the match.

I was about to shout something encouraging when my hackles rose before I even realized what had happened. I was rusty, admitted, but I couldn't _not _notice the movement - a _bullet_?! I couldn't even tense completely before Tsuna hit the ground, a wound on his forehead like a splat of paint.

I quickly scanned the windows, judging the height by the bullet's trajectory. I just caught a glimpse of the shine of what must have been a scope before it disappeared.

I desperately looked back to Tsuna. _Please tell me that was a special bullet, _please _tell me that was -_

I heaved a sigh of relief as Tsuna shot up with a Dying Will flame on his forehead. My suspicion from earlier had been confirmed: someone from the Family must be here. Only the Vongola have access to the particular bullets responsible for that phenomenon.

_"Defeat Mochida as if I were to die!"_ He thusly charged.

Mochida _was _fast, however, and swung his sword down directly on to Tsuna's fuzzy, flaming head, only for the weapon to be shattered. Tsuna followed through with the movement and headbutted the _absolute shit _out of the guy. I even cringed a little at that. He then _roared _sat on his chest, stradling him.

The crowd was stunned.

"A mounted position?!"

Tsuna raised his hand -

"A chop?!"

\- and brought it down, grabbing a fistful of Mochida's hair.

And _yanked_.

"_One hundred points!" _He tossed the hair aside and grabbed another fistful. _"If that's not enough - !" _I proceeded to yank out handful after handful of Mochida's hair until he was completely bald. Tsuna violently turned to the referee and shouted _"Zembuppon!"_

It honestly took me a second.

Then in the middle of the hush before the storm, I clapped my fist to my hand.

"Instead of 'ippon,' he got 'hyakuppon,' then 'every-ppon!" One point, a hundred points, then _all of the points._

...

Laughter roared through the gymnasium as the referee panicked and thrust Tsuna's flag high into the air.

"The winner is Sawada!"

I jumped and cheered, **"**_**Yes**_**!" **In my excitement I clapped Yamamoto hard on the shoulder repeatedly. "He freaking did it!"

He laughed, ignoring the pain, "Yeah, he did!"

I was about to run over to Tsuna to congratulate him, but Kyoko beat me to it. Still bursting with excitement but unwilling to ruin their moment, I gripped Yamamoto's elbow and shook, cackling wildly. He just sweatdropped but continued laughing, riding the atmosphere of everyone cheering wildly at the unexpected victory of the underdog.

Eventually, unable to contain themselves, the crowd surged forward and swarmed Tsuna, congratulating him and shaking him until it looked like his head would explode. But I cackled excitedly to myself (I'd never admit to giggling, which is actually what was happening) as I noted that despite his apparent distress, Tsuna actually looked quite happy.

* * *

After school, Tsuna was happily making his way home in a daze when he saw Reborn, apparently waiting for him, on top of the of the wall he seemed to like walking on. Still buzzing from the euphoria of winning and talking to Kyoko-chan, he ran over to Reborn, grinning.

"I did it, Reborn! I actually did it!"

Reborn smiled a little (more of a smirk) at his student's happiness. "You did it with your dying will. Good job."

Tsuna teared up a little. "Reborn, you...you're actually a nice guy, aren't you?" _Sniffle._

The infant frowned at this. "Don't get the wrong idea. You're still a Dame-Tsuna."

This time Tsuna teared up for a different reason.

Reborn began to walk, and Tsuna followed after, slumped and completely come down from his former victory-high. They walked in (actually somewhat companionable, surprisingly) silence for a ways, before Reborn suddenly stopped at the corner of the wall, his fedora tilting down and hiding his eyes in shadow. He subtly glanced behind his shoulder.

Tsuna took a few more steps before noticing Reborn's absence beside him, and turned around, with a questioning/suspicious expression. "Reborn? What's-"

"Shut up for a minute, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna looked affronted. "What-"

_**BANG.**_

"HIIEEE?!"

"HEEE- !" A squeal was drowned out by Tsuna's own cry.

"Reborn?! What the hell was that for?!" Tsuna looked between his tutor and the direction he shot at, namely a smoking hole in the wall by an intersection in the street parallel to the one they were on.

"That was a warning shot." Reborn called out, simultaneously answering and ignoring his student, as well as warning whoever it was he shot at. "Come out now and I won't shoot again. If you don't, there will be more than a warning shot. And I only need one." He added darkly. Tsuna stiffened and looked in the direction Reborn was indicating.

...

There was the sound of movement.

And someone stepped - err - _crawled _out from behind the wall...

* * *

School ended.

I packed my bag, deep in thought, and kept a very close eye on Tsuna as he exited the classroom. I discreetly followed.

_If the Ninth has already sent someone, then Tsuna's candidacy has been announced. But so early...?_

I nearly forgot to change back into my tennis shoes before following Tsuna outside - at an inconspicuous distance, of course. Was now the right time to make a move? Whoever the tutor was, they would have decided to start gathering Tsuna's family; with Tsuna's candidacy announced, he'd need the allies.

He was officially in this underworld, now.

Which meant that _now _was as good a time as any...

Except that I was nervous as all hell.

It'd been so long... and if that baby was the tutor... he was intimidating as _shit_. How do I even approach someone like that? Tsuna probably has no idea what to do with himself right now, so going to him, instead, would likely be pointless. And it's not like his tutor would leave him _actually_ alone, anyways...

Tsuna was leaving fast, and I was getting angsty. If I wanted to do this soon...

Well, gathering more information was always a good idea - you could never go wrong with too much knowledge.

Well, okay, in the mafia world you very well could get killed for possessing too much knowledge.

But that was beside the point.

Not exactly knowing what else to do, as soon as I rounded the corner of a wall, thus breaking the mutual line of sight, I sprinted to a street adjacent to the one Tsuna turned down, which had been the one directly in front of the school. So I went one street to the right.

Sprinting to the intersection so I wouldn't miss Tsuna moving past, I waited, peeking around the corner of the wall, making sure to stay alert to my surroundings. Tsuna passed by the intersection. I moved on as soon as he was out of sight, running to the next corner.

I kept repeating this process, making _damn sure _I didn't get cocky, which was a good choice, since Tsuna soon met up with the baby. They exchanged words, Tsuna looking ecstatic and proud.

_So the baby is definitely the tutor... But a _baby_?_

They exchanged a few words - amusingly - before moving on. I made sure the baby passed in front of a house before moving. No way was I underestimating anyone from the Vongola famiglia, infant or not.

I followed them for two blocks before something happened. I peeked _just a little _out from behind the wall.

That, apparently, was a mistake.

The baby stopped, and I immediately tensed, but knew better than to move yet.

_Shit shit shit shit shit sh -_

_SHIT._

_**BANG.**_

I gave a little shriek (embarrassingly reminiscent of Tsuna's trademark "hiiee!") and fell back onto my backside. And I think I heard Tsuna scream, too. I gaped for a second at the smoking hole made by the bullet that I was nearly certain_ would have taken out my eye had I not moved the very second he pointed his gun._

I was shaking like a damn leaf when a squeaky voice called out, drawing my attention away from envisioning myself without an eye.

"That was a warning shot."

_Like fucking _hell!

"Come out now and I won't shoot again. If you don't there will be more than a warning shot."

I gulped. He's dead serious.

"And I only need one."

...I honestly think I almost peed my pants.

It took me a second before I could make my muscles work. I slumped forward and crawled on all fours, half emerging from behind the wall.

* * *

Tsuna's jaw dropped.

"K-Kaylin?!" The redhead didn't speak, but was watching Reborn with wide, vaguely horrified eyes. Tsuna spun on the baby. "Reborn! What are you doing shooting at my classmates?!"

Reborn put away his gun. "She was following us," he answered simply. Then the frown he donned seemed suspiciously like a pout when he sniffed and said, "Besides, it was only a warning shot."

Kaylin piped up then. "_Like hell! _That almost took out my damn eye!"

Reborn was unfazed. "It didn't, did it?" Kaylin locked her jaw and silently _screamed_ in frustration.

Having noticed that she hadn't gotten up, yet, Tsuna rushed over to Kaylin and started flapping his hands about like a startled bird, fretting but afraid to actually touch her.

"A-are you okay?!"

She scowled up at him and he flinched away with a 'hiiee!' before she checked herself and smoothed her expression. She heaved herself up from the ground and snatched her dropped school bag up, hugging it to her chest. Her face seemed like it wasn't going to lose its frown any time soon.

Reborn made his way over to the two and hopped up to Tsuna's shoulder instead of the taller Kaylin's, not trusting the girl, yet. He tilted his fedora up a bit and scrutinized her.

"You're the girl that was half dangling from the window of Tsuna's classroom this morning. And judging by your name, you're also who gave Tsuna the push he needed to not run away today." Only the gymnasium incident would apply, here.

Kaylin bit the inside of her cheek. How'd he know about the pep talk? But, "I really shouldn't be surprised that you know about that last bit, I suppose."

Reborn cut to the chase. "Why were you tailing Tsuna like that?"

She shifted nervously, fiddling with the wristband on her arm. She supposed being dishonest with this particular person wouldn't get her anywhere, here.

"I was gathering information...more or less..."

Tsuna started. "Eh?"

"Stay quiet, Dame-Tsuna."

Reborn's tone left very little room for argument, so Tsuna just puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms, glaring at the wall.

Reborn seemed to narrow his eyes at the girl in front of him. "How much do you know?"

Kaylin glanced at Tsuna. "The Vongola Nono has chosen Sawada Tsunayoshi to be the next boss of the Vongola family. The Decimo." She shifted her gaze to Reborn. "I've assumed that the Ninth sent you to beat Tsuna into shape."

Reborn frowned, but continued his questions. "Who are you? Are you from a family?"

Kaylin shifted some more. "I'm in no family. I...generally freelance in America." She dodged the problem question.

Tsuna started again. "You're in the mafia?!"

This time Reborn kicked Tsuna in the head and didn't bother to reprimand him. Kaylin grimaced.

_'Spartan tutor, huh?' _The redhead thought.

Reborn 'hmm'd. "And your name?"

The girl fiddled with her wristband some more. "...Kaylin Steele." She knew being honest was the best way to go, but it still made her nervous out on principle.

Reborn's eyebrows shot up. Now that he looked closely...

"The Demon?" He clarified. Kaylin grimaced, not hiding her distaste. Tsuna 'hiiee'd quietly, staring at his friend like she'd sprouted a very scary second head.

"That alias was so cheesy! It was _not _my idea, for the record."

Reborn 'hmm'd again. He tilted his fedora up, getting a better look at her. Kaylin fidgeted, frowning at the wall. He vaguely remembered stories and rumors of a young hitman with an astounding track record from the US. Blood red hair, a look that seemed to cut like a sharpened blade. He saw that the "blood red" part wasn't an exaggeration, at least.

Tsuna had had about enough at that point. "Reborn! Would you please tell me what's going on!" He looked almost desperately between the baby on his shoulder and his classmate that he'd known for four days. The girl cast her metallic blue gaze at him in what was almost pity. Tsuna frowned.

Reborn thought of something. "Now that I think of it, you got here before me." He regarded her. "How long have you been here?"

"Literally four days."

He frowned, a little concerned. "That was before the Ninth officially made Tsuna the heir to the family. How did you know to come here? Where did you get your information?"

Kaylin, surprising both Reborn and Tsuna, grinned. She unzipped her school bag.

* * *

I grinned. I get to brag, now.

I unzipped my school bag.

"Hina, get out here, would you?" I smiled warmly as my fluffy rat poked her head out of the bag, sniffing.

_"Are you sure it's safe?"_

"It's fine, come on. I'm going to _brag_." At that, she scampered up my arm and onto my shoulder. Not vain at all.

"Hiiiee! A rat?!"

I frowned at Tsuna's reaction. "Yes, a rat." I eyed him critically. "She's never stepped foot in a sewer in her _life_, you know."

Tsuna didn't seem reassured, so I continued. "Rats are very smart! Especially her. And she offends easily." Tsuna straightened at my narrowed eyes.

I glanced away with a huff and puffed out cheeks. "And for the record, she's never even pooped on me before." At that Tsuna deadpanned.

_"As if I'd do something so personal in front of someone," _Hina muttered indignantly, cleaning her face. I pat her head with my finger.

"She's my partner. She talks to other animals for me and gathers information. Hina, coupled with regular genealogical records and gossip in Italy led me here, to Tsuna."

Reborn nodded, absently poking the chameleon on his head, who seemed to be eyeing Hina curiously. Hina, finished cleaning, sniffed the air once again in appraisal. Then she froze.

_"Kaylin, is that a pacifier on that tiny human's neck?"_

I blinked, then remembered that rats can't see shit.

I'm talking 600/20 vision.

"Yeah, why?"

She turned to me. _"Kaylin, _think. _What kind of baby would be sent by the Ninth to tutor the next generation's boss?"_

My face blanked in thought.

_..._

_..._

I slapped my forehead. **"Holy _shit_!"**

Reborn smirked. "That took a while."

I could have kicked myself! "If the Ninth sent you, you can only be Reborn! **And Tsuna even said your name!" **I wailed at myself with my head in my hands. **"How fucking rusty have I gotten?!"**

Tsuna deadpanned at my outburst in English. "Um..."

Hina did the equivalent of a rat sigh at me. _"How would you even feed yourself without me?"_

Reborn put a little fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. "That aside..." His tone changed and I tensed, lowering my hands a few inches, eyeing him warily. The important part was coming up soon. I could feel it in my gut. I swallowed, my mouth dry.

"If I recall correctly, you've worked with American branches of the Vongola in the past, yes?"

I nodded. I freelanced with the Vongola family several times, years ago. While I was still...worthy. I pushed aside the thought.

Reborn seemed to think.

Suddenly he hopped off Tsuna's shoulder and onto the wall next to us. Both Tsuna and I looked at him in question.

"Go home, Baka-Tsuna."

"Huh? You're not coming?"

"I'll be home later. Hurry up." He regarded his student in what looked to me like mild disdain. "Go play in the dirt or something."

I snorted. Tsuna's jaw dropped. He looked like his head would pop.

"Fine! I don't care anymore!" He started to stomp away before he turned back, a somewhat softer expression on his face. "Um, Kaylin..." He faltered.

I tilted my head at him. He fidgeted a bit before continuing. "You don't seem like a...bad person..." I blinked. "...So, um...thanks for...convincing me to face Mochida-senpai."

My eyebrows raised by themselves and in my peripheral vision I think Reborn's did, too. Even Hina hummed a little.

Tsuna noted all this and suddenly flushed a little, waving his hands in front of himself frantically. "I-it's just that - you know! You really helped me out, so, um, uh-"

Reborn, to my surprise, took pity. "Hurry up and get out of here, Baka-Tsuna."

...That or he actually got fed up with Tsuna's bumbling.

It could have been either/or, really.

Tsuna listened and turned away, waving over his shoulder, "J-ja, Kaylin. See you tomorrow!" I gave a bemused wave as he bounded around the corner.

Reborn seemed to sigh. "...I've go my work cut out for me."

I laughed at that. "But you can tell, the Ninth picked him for a reason." Reborn looked at me, then. He looked like he wanted to say something rather snarky, but I would guess he respected the Ninth too much for that. Instead he smiled a little, then got down to business, turning to me.

He regarded me for a moment. "I'm sure you can guess what I'm about to ask."

I grimaced. "Probably. I assume it's in regards as to why I came all the way here."

He nodded once. "That, and why you seemed to drop off the map for two years."

I froze. I felt the blood drain from my face, running ice cold down my spine. I fought the shaking that immediately picked up in my hands and legs, clutching my school bag until my knuckles turned white and my fingers started to sting. I lowered my head, hiding behind the lose hair of my braid.

I had desperately hoped to avoid this.

* * *

Reborn tilted his fedora up and watched her with a critical eye, noting her every movement, every twitch. He didn't admit it to himself, but when he saw how she reacted, he almost regretted asking.

She looked like she was about to go into shock.

"Let's walk to your place. Is it far?" He tried his hand in distracting her. It worked, somewhat. Besides, he sensed that there was a story behind this.

She jerked. She swallowed before trying to answer, then decided against it, anyways. She nodded, lifting her head only a little.

And so they walked.


	3. A Little Coffee, a Lot of Talking

_***TRIGGER WARNING***_

_There is self-harm (namely cutting oneself) in this chapter. It's not due to any emotional trauma (although emotional trauma is also in this chapter and the story in general - you've been warned), so I think it's only a technicality that I call this self-harm. Because it technically is._

_But, heads up. I know that self-harm is not to be taken lightly, and I don't in any way romanticize it. So, just...you know. Trigger warning just in case._

_Anyways, heads up having been properly given -_

**Boring Disclaimer: **_The writer (me) acknowledges that she does not own anything about KHR, blah blah blah. She only claims to own her OC._

**SHOUT OUTS FTW **because you guys are fantastic.

If y'all dun' know, I got some reviews!

Shout out to **QuirkyKit**, my first reviewer! DUDE. (She also favorited btw)

And (another) shout out to **RubyRedSpiderLily**, who last time threw me my first favorite has now thrown me my second review which is NO LESS fantastically awesome than the first. Which was very awesome.

Also, since the number is still small, thank you to all the (other) people who have favorited: **Skyea**, **DaughterofLoki1111**, and **4DarkMirror6 **(cool name btw).

And a thank you to all of you (eight) who followed! I'm lazy, but you know who you are!

Without further ado, please enjoy. And review. Please review also.

(I swear the A/N won't always be stupidly long, okay?)

**[Edit: 5/19/16] **Same as last, some spelling fixes, as I had written this on a different...word processor thingy that apparently had shittier spellchecking. I also fixed some...what, continuity issues? Eh. It's a tad more consistent, now, how's that?

Also _Mike and Molly_ ended, what the fuck.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

_**1st person, Kaylin**_

It wasn't a terribly long walk to her apartment, but Kaylin offered her shoulder to Reborn, anyways. He (gratefully) accepted.

And she trudged along in silence.

My apartment was in a pretty run-down complex, but the area around it wasn't actually that bad. Plus the rent was cheap. Reborn eyed it with a raised eyebrow.

I snorted. "I have limited funds, and I want to avoid work for as long as I possibly can."

He didn't lower his eyebrow.

"There's a...somewhat legitimate reason for that."

He hummed. I chuckled darkly, sweatdropping.

I made my way up the stairs, to the second farthest door, and pulled my key out of the deep recesses of the pocket of my uniform slacks. I proceeded to unlock the door and opened it with a flourish, "Welcome, Reborn, to my shitty apartment."

He snorted, to my surprise. "You're not kidding."

I grinned weakly. "Not even a little."

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, kicking off my shoes. We both took in the state of ill repair that my apartment was in.

The paint was peeling in some places - there was even a crack or two in the wall here and there. The cabinets in the kitchen, which was connected directly to the door, weren't in terrible shape, but clearly hadn't been replaced in a while. The fake wooden floor was scuffed up all over the place.

I sighed and padded through the kitchen and into the living room to the right, at the back of the apartment. It doubled as a bedroom, with a futon in the closet. It came with tatami mats and a kotatsu, to my delight. Even if the mats were fraying a little. The window didn't have a wonderful view, but it let in natural light, which was the most important to me.

"But, hey. The roof doesn't leak," I noted proudly. It was a shitty apartment, for sure, but it was my shitty apartment.

Reborn hopped down onto the kotatsu, plopping down right on the top.

...Well, I doubted he could sit beside the thing and see over it at the same time.

...I didn't mention that out loud.

Hina scuttled down my shirt and pant leg, and plopped onto the kotatsu herself, immediately starting to groom, and I chucked my school bag at the closet door. It hit with a hollow thunk and landed with a muffled thump.

Good riddance.

Suddenly feeling a little awkward just standing there, I offered, "You, uh, want some coffee? All I have is espresso, though." Do babies drink coffee? Well, he was a little different, but still...

He smiled (smirked) and said, "Espresso is my favorite."

"Great! Okay. Hina, don't knaw on anything."

She scoffed.

"Or anyone."

_"Go make your stupid coffee!" _She snapped to me.

I spun on my heel with a (somewhat forced) grin and stepped literally three feet to the left. I was desperately grateful for just a little more time in avoiding the conversation I knew was coming. I started the machine and made enough for four helpings. It went along quickly.

"Hee hee. Good thing, investing in a fancy coffee maker."

Reborn spoke up from the living room (again, baby's toddle away) -

...I swear on everything I hold dear that pun was not intended.

"It looks like the only new thing here," he said _helpfully_. Not that he was wrong.

"Aside from the futon stuffed in the closet, it is." I leaned ninety degrees and poked my head around the entryway. "Creamer? Sugar?"

"I'll take it black." I stuck out my tongue.

"Bleh."

I poured coffee into two mugs, dropping a spoonful of creamer and two of sugar into one. The best I could do with the provided facilities. Replacing the pitcher in the machine, I snagged the mugs and padded into the living room.

"Here you go, one nasty black coffee." I set the mug in front of him and took a seat.

He smirked and took a sip; I mirrored him. For just a second there wasn't a sound. Then we both let out a collective sigh of bliss.

"Good coffee."

I grinned. "It was a bit expensive, but one should never skimp out on coffee."

He smirked again. "I agree."

There was a small companionable silence until I looked to my left at the sight on the table. Reborn looked at it , as well, a contemplative set to his mouth and eyebrows.

...

"It looks like they get along."

"Yeah..." I trailed off.

Hina and Reborn's chameleon were sitting across from each other.

Staring.

...

"What...do you think they're doing?"

He considered. "Probably talking."

"...It seems so..."

...

We took sips of our coffee.

Collective sigh.

Reborn cleared his throat, taking on a more serious air. It was odd how he could do that without changing his expression much. While being a baby.

"Are you here to join Tsuna's family?" I blinked in surprise, then smirked.

"Perceptive, huh." I sighed, accepting defeat. "Yeah, I guess I should expect that of you. That's why I came all the way to Japan." I looked at Hina and the chameleon, avoiding Reborn's eyes.

"His name is Leon." I glanced at him, surprised again, then glanced back, smirking a little.

"**Leon **the chame**leon**, huh?" That was cute. Reborn might have smiled.

Probably didn't, but whatever.

There was a pregnant pause before he spoke up again.

...

"...You know I have to ask."

My expression slackened. I got the feeling that this conversation would have me up to the ears in subtext. "...Yeah. I understand. Although, honestly, I had really hoped to avoid it."

He waited for me to continue. I sighed and took a long drink of my coffee, scalding myself, but relishing the caffeine. I stared into my cup. He wanted to know where I had disappeared to two years ago. Obviously, my sudden lack of activity hadn't gone unnoticed by the underworld.

"Well, I guess I'll start with a story... Were you aware that two years ago I was invited to Italy to assist with an operation by the Vongola?"

He tilted his fedora back. "Now that you mention it, Iemitsu mentioned something like that to me."

I nodded and continued. "CEDEF was going to raid a fairly large base of a family that was very antagonistic to the civilians of... some place. It's been so long that I can't remember. I was hired as an extra hand. Apparently it was a pretty big operation."

"I think I remember that. The base was somewhere in _Toscana_." Tuscany, my mind supplied.

I nodded again. I bit my lip. I was getting close to the hard part. Well, the beginning of it.

"...Well, the mission was a success. It went pretty flawlessly, actually. I'm sure there's a report archived somewhere that you can access, if you're interested."

We both knew I was stalling, but to Reborn's credit and my eternal gratitude, he patiently waited for me to continue.

"I suppose I got cocky. Overconfident. I was probably thinking that if I could handle a mission like that without messing up I could probably relax in the area. Believe me, thinking about it in retrospect, I realize that that was beyond foolish. Tuscan-brand mafia doesn't have _shit _on the Sicilian variety.

"I decided to take more of a look into the Vongola family since I was in the area, you know? After working with their trusted affiliate, I realized how different some families were compared to...what I was used to. I wanted to settle down, as it were." I laughed bitterly. "That clearly worked out well." I opened my mouth to continue, but what I was about to say just didn't make it out of my throat.

I froze up. I clenched my teeth and took another long drink of my cooling coffee.

I inhaled deeply through my nose. I didn't meet Reborn's watchful gaze.

I swallowed and choked out the words that I still had nightmares over.

"_Per fare un dio._"

**\/\/\/\**

_**3rd person, omniscient**_

Reborn froze.

_Per fare un dio._

To make a god.

His stomach dropped. He removed his hands from his mug of coffee, his taste for it suddenly forgotten.

Kaylin didn't lift her head as she continued, bangs shielding her from the gaze of the infant, and even Hina and Leon watched her, their own silent conversation forgotten.

"That's what they told me."

Her message clicked immediately. Reborn lowered his fedora, shading his eyes from view. It was a gesture of sympathy, regret, sadness. Anger.

He spoke in a low voice. "Vita Ricerca."

The girl with crimson hair suddenly tensed, fists clenching as she hissed air through her teeth. She trembled; with fear or rage, Reborn couldn't tell. Perhaps both, he thought.

Reborn recalled the information he knew of the wretched, godforsaken underground organization that was destroyed by the Vongola famiglia and allied forces a few months ago. Vita Ricerca.

Although it was a rumor, it's said that the organization started from a cult. Reborn suspected that said cult could have been a cover for some genius who wanted research funds, because the name 'Vita Ricerca'was only actually known as belonging to a research lab.

This research lab, while somewhat well-funded, understandably didn't get many volunteers for guinea pigs, although the sponsors would be more than willing. No, the research was conducted on individuals with unique abilities. To get the research specimens they needed, they resorted to kidnapping.

Apparently Vita Ricerca was either very selective or very unsuccessful in their kidnap attempts, because there were barely a dozen kidnappings. Either way, they were covert and quiet enough to elude the efforts of being found by the Vongola or another family for two years.

Once found the base and lab were quickly and decisively raided, and the victims of the ambitions of a madman were freed. Reborn would have been a part of the mission himself had he not been tutoring Dino at the time. The Ninth assured him that there was enough manpower.

The kidnapped individuals were given rehabilitation funded by the Vongola family. Sort of compensation for taking so long to find them. Reborn hadn't visited any of the now-patients, so he didn't know who had been made victim. Apparently the young girl before him had been included in the number.

He made a mental note to look into the report of this particular mission and related documents, as well as the mission reports that he hadn't read yet of any joint operations with the Family that Kaylin has been involved in.

He looked up at her, not speaking, waiting for her to continue at her own pace.

She took a deep, shaky breath. Then grew still as she exhaled.

"Two years."

Her voice was bland, her face blank. Formerly sharp eyes now void of life.

Reborn lowered his head again. He thought it might be a form of post traumatic stress. A defense mechanism. Her emotions became so great, so raw and bleeding, that she just stopped feeling them. She shoved everything so far down that she effectively became sociopathic, filled to the brim with apathy.

She continued, straightening and affixing her apathetic stare somewhere above Reborn's head.

"They cut. Carved. Burned. Melted. I think they did everything they could possibly think of. To see if I could survive it and heal." She gazed down at the wristband on her arm, lightly touching the material. She refused to recall the many events in more detail. Some of it she had blacked out of her memory, anyways.

"I did." She was silent for a while, and Reborn let her stay that way while he digested the information.

She nearly startled him with a harsh bark of laughter. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment before leaning onto the kotatsu, putting her head in her hands. She forcibly heaved out a breath.

"You should know - someone besides the rat - should know something."

Noting that she had seemed to come out of her 'state,' Reborn forced himself to relax his shoulders. He was human. He wasn't always impervious to feeling a little sympathy to pain like hers.

"What is it?" He inquired.

"Th...they... made me _sick_." Reborn furrowed his brows. "...Very sick. I'm still sick. I'm not getting any sicker, but...I'm not what I used to be." She smirked at herself. "I sound like an old racehorse."

Reborn internally frowned at the simile. He'd definitely have to ask about that "sickness" at a less sensitive time if he couldn't figure out what it was on his own. She seems fine, but...

Well, he wouldn't push the subject today.

"I..." Kaylin saw Reborn's frown and seemed to misinterpret it. "I mean, I can still heal wounds - my own and others' - and I can fight without using my flames, though I'm still learning, and - "

"Wait." Kaylin blinked. Reborn had a couple questions, but picked just one for now. "Flames?" He pressed. She blinked again.

"Oh! I forgot that I've never really told anyone..." She lowered her eyes and laughed bitterly. "Although, I guess someone knew. They must have been tracking me for a while, considering how quickly I was..." She swallowed thickly. "...caught." She shook her head, banishing that train of thought, eager to move onto less rocky territory.

"Have you heard of...how do you say it in Japanese... crap. You'd think I'd have stopped to learn that... Well, I suppose the closest thing to the English name would be '_nani no honoo__'_. '_Fiamma di niente__'_ in Italian. **'****Flame of Nil****'** in English. Or, more accurately, **flame of nothing**, but I've always called it the former - um. Are you listening?"

"Yeah." He had been looking to the side with his hand on his chin, deep in thought. "...That would explain...several things." He didn't elaborate.

Kaylin thought for a moment. "Hey, what word of me traveled ahead of me to Italy?"

He regarded her. "You're asking what I know of your abilities?"

Kaylin nodded, while Reborn frowned in thought.

"Not much," he confessed. "Mostly rumors and a few reports from your past joint operations with the Vongola. You were impervious to damage, recovering from cuts, blunt force, and bullet wounds faster than one could blink. In the face of overwhelming numbers, you kept moving forward. That story's what earned you your name of 'Demon.'"

Kaylin cringed. "That...is somewhat exaggerated."

Reborn just smirked. "I figured. But then there's the mission reports I've happened to read out of boredom and at the insistence of colleagues - after they talked me down from pointing a gun at their head," he felt nonchalantly added, to which Kaylin minutely winced. "The manners of your targets' death were always unusual when compared to more traditional assassination targets. They often bled out from 'wounds' to the neck or 'holes' in the head, among other things. It was as if the flesh or bone were simply removed.

"But, the method of attack wasn't able to be determined by examining the corpses; the wounds were too clean to be cuts or the result of some kind of acid or basic substance. The points at which the flesh was separated were at a molecular level. And witness reports stated that you used your bare hands, which didn't match up with the wounds, either.

"But now that you've mentioned the flame of nil, which is said to have a property of cancellation, the manner of the targets' death makes sense. In reality, the existence of a crucial part of their body was effectively denied."

Kaylin was gaping as Reborn finished his long-winded explanation and conclusion. "Th-that...Oh...A molecular level...? I didn't even know that - I mean, I wasn't exactly precicely targeting..." She mumbled to herself.

Not giving her any time to gather her thoughts, he asked, "Can you show me?"

Kaylin blinked, then shook herself out of her reverie. "Oh. Um, yeah," she replied smartly. "The, uh, the healing bit, or the...cancelling bit?"

"Both."

"Er, right, let me get a knife first..." She hopped up and rummaged around in her small kitchen.

_Bang_.

Reborn finished the dregs of his coffee.

_Clatter._

"_Shit_."

"Can I get a refill?"

_Clatterclank_.

"_Yeah! I'll bring the pitcher, just a second._"

_Clank. Ping._

"**Son of a -**"

_CRASH_.

"_What the fuck did I do with the godforsaken knives?!_"

Reborn and Leon blinked at each other, the former shrugging, the latter tilting his head. Hina simply sweatdropped at her companion, mentioning to Leon how this was actually rather normal. Leon made strange chortling, chirping noise akin to a snicker.

Finally Kaylin emerged from the kitchen, paring knife in one hand, pot of coffee in the other, looking (rather) frazzled.

Leon and Hina jumped as Kaylin more or less slammed the pitcher onto the kotatsu after having refilled Reborn's mug, some of the substance sloshing precariously around the sides of the container, while said infant took it in stride, simply proceeding to sip from his freshly filled mug.

"Thank you," he said.

"No problem," she tossed back, slightly breathless, not missing a beat as she promptly plopped herself onto the floor, knife gleaming dangerously in the light of the sun still streaming through her apartment window.

Kaylin took a deep breath as Reborn set down his mug, and scooted it to the side. He hopped to his feet and moved closer to the redhead to have a better view of what she was about to show him. He seated himself and patiently waited.

"Okay," she started. Placing the small knife harmlessly to the side, she held her right hand in front of her. "I'll not half-ass this and explain it as properly as I can, since this is...weird."

**/\/\/\/**

_**1st person, Kaylin**_

I took a steadying breath. While manifesting the flame had used to be second nature to me, it'd been a while.

Like, _a while._

I felt the energy in my veins, my flesh, my bones; inside the molecules, residing in the empty space between and in my very atoms. That was the essence of nil, of null, of the void. Vacuum space. The absence of any kind of positive matter. I pulled at the life energy that used to so overflow from me that I began healing once wounded almost instantaneously, coaxing it out of hiding and into the the habited space of the air.

Something looking like a heat wave flickered into existence in the palm of my hand. Reborn watched intently, probably taking in every detail.

"People thought I used my bare hands because the flame is nearly invisible, I imagine. The fact that it can be visually perceived at all is because of its reaction with the elements that make up air. When manifested, it's basically antimatter."

"Which cancels out positive matter atom by atom, resulting in the cancellation of the flesh of your targets' bodies."

"From what I understand, yeah. And it hurts like hell."

"I imagine," Reborn mused.

"Which is why - " I dispersed the flame, reabsorbing it as my life energy, and snatched up the knife with my right hand. " - I got this. I've found that being cut by a blade is much less painful than melting away my flesh myself." I took a bracing breath as I held my left wrist in front of me. "Not that this doesn't hurt..."

Getting it over with in a quick motion, I finished the cut before my brain even registered the pain. I sucked in air through my teeth as the stinging burn hit. But as quickly as it started, it began to fade. The wound wasn't just healing; it was _unhappening_, looking like it was zipping itself back closed.

"In it's non-condensed state, it acts automatically within my body to undo any damage done. Any radical changes at all, actually. I couldn't get a tattoo if I wanted one, for example."

Reborn hummed as the wound finally ceased to exist. "It's seamless," he noted.

"Mm..." I touched the wristband under my elbow without thinking. Reborn noted this, though I didn't notice his change in attention. "I've found that if a wound is too severe, though, it'll leave a kind of scar. None that I care to show," I added quietly. Reborn frowned.

"Anyways," I moved on, forcing a change the subject, "If I focus, I can curb the flow of the energy and somewhat postpone the healing." I swiftly made another cut in roughly the same spot, this time letting it bleed for a moment. I let a bit of blood pool, not enough to spill, before allowing the wound to close. The bleeding had visibly stopped.

I laid the little blade down to the side, and Reborn leaned back, having scooted forward in his focus. "Incidentally, that's how they succeeded in making me sick. And," I continued," as a demonstration of how my flame affects matter..." I indicated the amount of blood on my arm.

I raised my other hand and focused a small amount of flame to materialize at the tip of my finger. I glided the small flame over the blood. Like in some kind of computer paint program, the blood was disappearing as if it had never been there.

"If I focus, I can be choosy about what the flame is allowed to affect. If I'm creative, this can have a variety of uses." I gave a wry smile. "Many of which, surprisingly, have little to do with murder." I dark humor in my tone wasn't lost.

Reborn, however, only hummed once more. "You mentioned earlier that you can heal others?"

"Ah, yeah. When I manifest the flame I can apply it to someone's body by manipulating it back into non-physical energy. It's much easier if they willingly accept it, though, otherwise I have to use extra juice and force it. Still works, though."

The baby was silent for a moment, hand on his chin again in thought.

"It truly is a unique Dying Will flame. But, like the Flame of Wrath, it can be wielded without a special material and be manifested without entering Dying Will Mode."

That said, he stood up and paced over to his probably cold coffee. He frowned down at it.

I raised an eyebrow and poorly suppressed a grin. He looked like he was pouting. "Don't like cold coffee?"

His frown deepened. "No, I don't."

I chuckled then (it wasn't a giggle).

(No, I swear.)

"Do you want me to heat it up for you?"

He made a sound under his breath that suspiciously sounded like a "tch" and turned to me. "No, it's getting late; you can have it. Maman will probably be making dinner soon. I don't want ...to..." He trailed off.

I blinked. "Uhm? Are you okay...?...Reborn?"

I reached forward cautiously and was about to poke his cheek when a bubble suddenly sprang from his nose. I snatched my hand back in surprise, staring wide-eyed at him. Then my jaw nearly dropped as a little snore escaped from him.

...

...

_"Oh, my,"_ Hina chimed.

I couldn't help but nearly double over trying to suppress my laughter, forcefully silent, and I new my face was instantaneously red. I slapped my hand over my mouth but soon ran out of breath and had to gasp in air. I nearly wheezed in my desperation to remain silent, but _oh man_ was that funny.

"He was going to leave because he was tired!" I had tears in my eyes. "Oh, man, Hina, I haven't laughed that hard in..." I sobered somewhat, wiping my eyes. "...In years."

I could sense her smiling gently, sadly, in her own way. I sighed in contentment.

I looked out at the nearing sunset. "It is getting a little late, though." I glanced at Reborn, fast asleep while standing. I heaved a sigh. "...I'm going to have to take him to Tsuna's house, aren't I." It wasn't a question.

I lightly clapped the kotatsu with my palms and got to my feet.

"Come on you two," I smiled at the small animals who had been in companionable silence with their respective humans for hours. Hina quickly climbed up my pant leg and shirt and onto my shoulder. She seemed to motion with her head at Leon. He seemed to tilt his head in thought.

I kneeled down and held my hand out to him, palm up. He froze and flicked his tongue out, sniffing me. He tilted his head at me. I tilted mine back. He seemed to meet my eyes for a moment.

He then proceeded to crawl onto my hand.

I grinned widely at him as he scurried up my arm and onto my unoccupied right shoulder. I giggled (I admit it this one time, alright?) at him and looked down to the sleeping Reborn.

Sighing one more time just out of principle, I gently scooped him up and tried to hold him in a way that wasn't actually cradling him; I thought that might be a little demeaning to him, although it was kind of hard.

I got him settled and padded to the door. I shouldered Reborn's weight (babies are heavier than one might think) and grabbed the house key off of the kitchen counter. Stepping (and nearly tripping) over the little step in entrances that Japanese homes so love and struggled into my shoes. I left the building and locked up. I glanced down at my temporary charge and huffed a little.

"You're lucky I know where Tsuna lives, kid."


	4. Some Matronly Persuasion à la Nana

**A/N:**

**You GUYS. wITH YOUR FAVorites and JUNK!**

**huhuHUHUHUHueheeehuehee**

**Oh yeah.**

**[Boring Disclaimer: Seriously I don't claim to own anything about Reborn! and the only thing that is mine would be the OC scenes not in the original works blah blah don't be a dick about it, it's FANFICTION.]**

**PS Sorry that this took so long. I literally JUST finished chapter five, after all, and I wanna make sure that I never actually run out of chapters.**

**PS again I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL FUTA SHOWS UP BECAUSE THAT DAMN KID IS FREAKIN' ADORABLE and freakin' Kaylin is gonna pop when Lamba and I-pin show up and then Futa is just gonna break Kaylin's maternal instincts in half and just. just damn dude it's gonna be fantastic and so fun to write i CAN'T WAIT OMG**

**ENJOY YOUR HEARTS OUT YOU BEAUTIFUL MOTHERFUCKERS**

**Oh, I haven't said this, yet I don't think, but I'll generally be mixing elements of the anime and manga together, such as Gokudera's smoking habit and Yamamoto's emo period. But the anime has a more balanced layout with comedy, fight, comedy, fight et cetera, as opposed to the manga switching almost completely to fighting (I'm still reading the manga, btw).**

**ANYHOO**

**ENJOY**

* * *

I found myself standing outside the Sawada household well before the sun set. Which was good, because my arms were going numb. I believe I'd mentioned before how surprisingly heavy babies were.

"Um..."

_"Just open the gate." _Hina grumped at me.

"But I am definitely not comfortable with that."

_"Why not?"_

"It's a _gate._ And it's _closed._"

_"Is it locked?"_

...

"...No."

_"Then it's open."_

I scowled at her logic. I stared at the door for a second before I noticed a doorbell.

And it's not like I could reach the doorbell from _outside _the gate...

I pursed my lips. The doorbell was meant to be used...

But the gate...

I mean, I have Reborn with me...

Wake him up!

No no no no, my instinct told me that that would _not _have been good for my health.

Then you'll have to ring the doorbell...

_But the gate...!_

No, you have Reborn with you, you'll be forgiven if it's actually considering trespassing and/or creeping around your classmate/boss' house.

...

I nudged the gate open with my foot.

Not even a creak. That's good.

**"Why do I feel like a burglar...?" **I muttered to myself. I was pretty sure I looked sketchy as fuck. And I was looking around like a shifty-eyed creep.

I took a step forward.

No alarms. That was also good!

Another step. No attack dogs.

Great!

Another -

_"For fuck sake Kaylin, rung the damn bell!"_

_!_

_..._

I "eep"d louder than any doorbell, I think.

_"Ara, Tsu-kun, did you hear that?"_

...

They apparently had the windows open.

_**Aw, shit.**_ I scowled at Hina, who scuttled down my shirt and into my pants pocket.

**"You cheeky little shit."**

_"Eh? I didn't hear anything."_

_"I think there's someone at the door."_

_Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit I'm gonna get caught trespassing with the baby of the house in my arms oh dear gods of the land and Buddha I don't want to go to foreign prison again -_

The doorknob turned.

_GASP._

"Who could it be at suppertime - Oh! Who might you be - _Oh! _Reborn-kun!"

I was frozen in place.

Tsuna's mom answered the damn door.

What the _fuck, _Tsuna?!

"Are you a friend of Tsu-kun's from school?"

I jerked. "Uh - um," I answered like the sliver-tongue I knew I was on the inside.

Tsuna's (pretty, I noted belatedly) mom called over her shoulder, still holding the door open, "Tsu-kun~! A pretty girl from school is at the door!"

_Pr -_

There was a crash from the kitchen.

I was already so frazzled that my mind stopped working for a second. I think my head puffed steam I turned red so fast.

"_E-eh?!"_

_Thump thump thump, SLAM._

"Kaa-san, what are - _Kaylin?! _And Reborn!"

Everything was a fuzzy blur as I was ushered inside, relieved of the burden of a baby in my arms, somehow guided out of my shoes, and plopped down at a kotatsu.

Eh?

Tsuna was at the doorway to the living room looking just as frazzled as I was and Tsuna's mom, who introduced herself as Nana, was standing cheerily before me, holding a spatula.

I belatedly noticed that Reborn was just lain down on the kotatsu with his fedora beside him.

"Supper's almost ready, why don't you stay?"

I snapped out of my stupor. "Eh?! N-no, ma'am, I was just going to drop Reborn off and-"

Nana waved the spatula at me, "Oh, _no~ _Kei-chan! Just call me Mama!"

_Eh?_

"B-but ma'a - err, Mama... you really don't have to do that, I was going to just go home, I don't want to intrude-!"

"_Nonsense!_ I insist you stay, it's no trouble at all! I'm more than happy to cook dinner for one of Tsuna's friends." She - were those sparkles? Another Kyoko?! - beamed at me and turned on her heel and practically skipped out of the room. On her way out she sang, "Besides, it sounded like Tsu-kun spilled something in the kitchen, so I'll have to make more, anyways~!" Tsuna flushed a little after his mother swung out the door and into the kitchen (following Tsuna's stare) around the corner.

_"Kaa-san!"_

"Tsu-kun, keep Kei-chan company, would you? I'll take care of the rest of supper!"

...

He slumped and trudged forward, plopping down on the other side of the table.

And we sat.

...

_Wait, "Kei-chan?"_

* * *

A defeated looking Tsuna.

A supremely frazzled looking Kaylin.

...

A napping Reborn.

Tsuna heaved a long suffering sigh. His eyes shifted sheepishly from Reborn to Kaylin, gaze flickering between the two as he fidgeted.

"I, um, I'm sorry about this, Kaylin." She blinked at him, and he smiled nervously, rubbing his hand across the back of his head. "Once my mom gets an idea in her head it's kind of hard to get her to change her mind..." _Or see reason, _he inwardly grimaced.

"No, I mean, I'm not the one being inconvenienced here..." She tried to smile reassuringly, but it looked more like a cringe. "But, she looked so happy, I didn't really have the heart to outright tell her 'no'..."

Tsuna seemed to slump a little and she waved her hands in front of her face, "I'm not complaining! I guess I mean to say that I don't really mind," she flushed a little as she finished, "seeing how excited she seemed..." This time Kaylin fidgeted. She was...very unaccustomed to people being so happy toward _her._

Tsuna blinked at her flushed cheeks and lack of eye contact. Granted, he hadn't known her for even a week, but he didn't imagine that she had this flustered side to her. Her metallurgic eyes didn't seem so sharp, at the moment.

He didn't notice it, but his taut shoulders relaxed, just a little.

Suddenly, Kaylin twitched. Something rustled in her pocket and she blinked.

"Oh!"

Tsuna blinked curiously as Kaylin reached into her pocket and pulled out something fuzzy. With a tail. And...whiskers...? _The rat?!_

He started rather violently.

"Hiiiee-" A hand slapped quickly over his mouth. _"Hmmnph?!"_

Kaylin had leaned precariously across the table in alarm, the rodent cradled in one hand to her chest, other hand clamped over Tsuna's mouth.

"Hiiii~," she finished for him, "-na." Her look was alarmingly stern and the metallic glint in her eyes was back. Tsuna let out another muffled 'hiie?!' without thinking and nearly broke into a cold sweat.

_'No, no, no, her eyes are definitely still terrifying!'_

Kaylin sighed and her eyes softened. "Her name is Hina." She removed her hand and sat back down. The rat - Hina - poked her head out from behind the hand holding her. Tsuna watched in mild amazement and bewilderment as Kaylin smiled warmly at the rodent and pet her little head. Then he immediately twitched in alarm when her sharp eyes swung up to him again.

"I told you earlier today that she offends easily." Tsuna sweatdropped as her expression rapidly shifted into something that looked suspiciously like a pout. "She's only a rat, you know! Like a super smart little dog!"

He tried to banish the look of disbelief he knew was on his face. Surprisingly, Kaylin snorted.

"Even if you don't believe that about all rats, you should believe it about her." She smiled as Hina hopped down onto the kotatsu and trotted over to stand in front of Tsuna. His eyes widened and he straightened. "Go ahead, let her sniff your finger."

Hina tilted her head at him, patient.

Tsuna debated; he kind of _really _didn't want to, but he was rather curious...and the rodent was kind of cute. Being so fluffy and all.

"...Does she bite?"

Kaylin snorted. "Not unless someone deserves it." Tsuna frowned a little but seemed to cave.

Guardedly, hesitantly, he offered her his finger. He almost flinched as she leaned forward and wiggled her whiskers as she sniffed. Kaylin huffed a laugh under her breath.

"You're so twitchy, Tsuna." He puffed out his cheeks but didn't say anything.

_He knew he was, dammit!_

Mildly irritated and somewhat close to pouting himself he glanced down at Hina and actually softened a little bit.

"I guess...when they're not scurrying around underfoot or something, rats are...kind of cute," he admitted. He scratched behind her ear with the tip of his finger and smiled a little despite himself when the rat licked him.

Kaylin grinned at them both. "See? She appreciates you scratching her favorite spot." She gave a pause as Hina turned her head to her. Kaylin rolled her eyes. "Don't freak out; she's gonna climb up your arm."

Tsuna blinked and didn't get a chance to say anything before the ball of fuzz scurried up his sleeve and onto his shoulder.

"Good thing you're wearing sleeves," Kaylin noted as she leaned her chin on her hand. With a little wiggle of her rump in preamble, Hina nimbly hopped to the top of Tsuna's head, sinking down in the fluff as the boy gave a surprised 'hiie!'

The redheaded teen immediately beamed at the sight. _"Aww! _That's adorable! I can barely even see her!" She slapped her hands to her cheeks to suppress the giggles and hide the flush she knew was there. Tsuna sweatdropped as she squirmed like a child who couldn't wait to get candy.

For as long as she's remembered, she's had such intense maternal instincts that she's nearly incapacitated by cute things. No matter how many people she's killed or hurt, no matter how violent she's had to be in the past absolutely nothing has managed to so much as dim her reaction to cute things.

Before he realized that he was even speaking, he noted aloud, "You're not actually as scary a person as I thought you'd be."

Kaylin stopped squirming and blinked at the boy in front of her with wide eyes. "...You thought I was scary?"

Tsuna jerked and started shaking his head, Hina peaking out from behind the fuzz of his hair in question. "N-no, well, ye-yes, I mean, you usually seem intimidating to everyone, which, now that I think of it, makes sense since you're in the...mafia..." He trailed off, looking like he wanted to sprint out of the room. _'And she's in my house!'_

Kaylin looked mildly alarmed and quickly spoke up, "That's true, but I'm not a bad guy, I promise!" She made a quick decision when she said, "In fact, I came all the way to Japan to join the Vongola Tenth's - namely your - family..." The end of her declaration ended in a bit of a whisper as she seemed to shrink, hands fidgeting in front of her.

Tsuna looked absolutely floored. "You what?! Like I've been telling Reborn, I -" He caught himself and lowered his voice to a stage whisper, throwing a look over his shoulder at the door of the living room. "_I have no intention of being a part of the mafia!_ I don't want to have anything to do with something as dangerous as that!" He told her desperately.

To his surprise Kaylin only looked at him sadly, not surprised to hear him say that in the least.

_Well, _she thought,_ he'll come to terms with it someday._

"Baka-Tsuna."

* * *

Tsuna and I both jumped out of their skin at the squeaky voice of Reborn.

"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaimed. "Don't scare people like that!"

To Tsuna's consternation he was ignored as Reborn continued, "Don't be so rude. A high class hitman came all the way across the world wanting to be your subordinate."

Tsuna balked. "Eh?! You're that strong, Kaylin?!"

Hina hopped from Tsuna's head to the table, landing with a surprisingly loud _thump _and scurried around Reborn and over to me.

I shifted and laughed nervously. "Ah, well, I had a good run when I was younger...But, I retired from being a gun for hire a couple years ago. Now, I'm afraid I'm kind of rusty, so I may not be able to do what I used to." I had to lie.

I glanced at Reborn, who had frowned, but seemed to nod minutely in understanding.

"Oi, Baka-Tsuna. Go help Maman in the kitchen."

Tsuna's eye twitched. "Eh? If she needed help she'd have -"

I jumped as a tiny black foot connected with the side of Tsuna's head.

"Go be a helpful son, ingrate."

I sweatdropped as Tsuna (hurriedly) trudged out of the room holding his head, muttering something that was possibly a string of obscenities that I'd be proud of.

"...Spartan teaching, huh...?"

He turned to me with a nonchalant air as he said, "It's my favorite method." I gave a nervous chuckle as he proceeded to sit down across from me at (on) the table.

"We never quite finished our discussion before."

I nodded solemnly and didn't say anything.

He continued, "You have answered most of my questions to my satisfaction. Except one that I have yet to ask."

I frowned. "And that is?"

He tilted his fedora back to look at me better. "Why do you want to join Tsuna's family?"

Ah.

"I mentioned back at my apartment that I was interested in settling down." The baby nodded. I was silent for a moment, biting my lip. "I came to the heir, to Tsuna...for a fresh start." I looked at Reborn directly, hoping that he saw my sincerity.

"I honestly intended to try to join the Ninth's family after I had finished that mission. For reasons we've previously discussed, I didn't get that chance." I smiled a little sadly. "And it didn't take much information gathering to see that the Ninth was looking for an heir. I learned it was Tsuna and decided it was best for me to leave the country, anyways.

"A kid in middle school who hasn't even been introduced to any of the awful things that happen in the mafia? That's the best I could have hoped to find.

"Honestly, those selfish reasons were why I came here to begin with. But after only knowing Tsuna for a few days...I've got this instinct to...lessen any blows that this shitty world might throw at him."

I looked at Reborn directly.

"I can definitely see now that I made the right choice in coming to him," i confused, voice steady.

The infant regarded me silently. As much as I actually disliked eye contact outside of fighting, I didn't look away. I could sense the importance of this moment.

"Kei-chan~!"

...

"Bring Reborn-kun, would you? Supper's ready!"

My eye twitched.

...

"...Kei-chan...?" I muttered before I could catch myself.

Reborn tilted his fedora down, failing to hide a smirk. He hopped off the table.

"Tsuna will just have to accept it."

_Wait, what?_

_..._

I looked sharply at him, eyes wide. "Then..."

He didn't turn to look at me as he continued to the hallway.

"Of course. You'd make a very valuable asset to Tsuna's family."

...

I couldn't move for a moment before I beamed and slapped a hand over my mouth to stifle the giggles of happiness that uncontrollably bubbled up from my throat. I put my face to the table and held my stomach as I grinned so hard that tears filled my eyes.

"Kei-chan~?"

I sprung up from my position and felt Hina clamor up my leg and into my pocket. I bounded into the hallway and into the kitchen, where I could smell the wonderful aroma of a home-cooked meal.

I stared at the small feast that was arranged at the table.

Nana beamed and sparkled at me as she motioned to a seat next to where Tsuna was already seated.

"Have a seat!"

I swallowed saliva that had collected under my tongue at the sight. A great bunch of rice in a cooker, hamburgers, _mashed potatoes, _fried vegetables including bamboo shoots and a whole cornucopia of things that I couldn't seem to name, breaded fish, and some Japanese looking noodle-y stuff that I also couldn't name if you paid me.

I had just opened my mouth to say _something _when my stomach spoke for me. Kind of loudly. I couldn't even be bothered to be embarrassed I was so awestruck.

Tsuna sweatdropped, Reborn just hopped into his boosted chair, and Nana swept me over to my seat with an amused "Ara."

I plopped into my seat across from Reborn, my stomach taking over where my brain had stopped working. Nana seated herself across from Tsuna, still beaming and sparkling at..the world, I supposed.

Before I could think of _anything _Tsuna and Nana chorused out an "Itadakimasu!" And supper began.

* * *

Nana had made so much food, between the four of us we barely finished it all.

But at Nana's frequent insistence, I ate until I was full.

And I mean full.

I was five months pregnant with a food baby, dammit. Reborn actually looked mildly impressed, Tsuna was in permanent deadpan mode, and Nana just seemed delighted at my appetite.

As I finished the last of the food on my plate (and on the table) I leaned back with a _very _satisfied sigh. Until I realized that I had actually left them with no leftovers. I apologized quite a bit, but Nana just graciously waved away my concerns with a smile.

"You're the first friend Tsuna's ever had over for supper!" Tsuna objected at that with a flush - but didn't actually deny it, I noted. "It was my pleasure to cook for you, Kei-chan." She, for the umpteenth time that night, beamed and sparkled at me.

I glanced out the window of the kitchen and was (not really) surprised to see the sun had nearly completely set.

"Oh, my, it's gotten so late!" Nana noted. "Do you live far, Kei-chan?" I had long ago accepted that Tsuna's mom was calling me by that weird name. I didn't have the heart to tell her not to. And I wouldn't admit it to myself, but it was sort of starting to grow on me.

"Um, no, not very far. I could probably get there in five minutes or so." If I ran.

"You'll be okay to walk home by yourself, then? If you're worried, Tsu-kun could walk you home," she offered.

"Eh?!" Tsuna looked alarmed. Or maybe that was just annoyance.

"Oh, no that's okay. I'm...quite proficient in self defence." Nana looked impressed.

"Ara, then maybe you could look after Tsu-kun~!"

"Kaa-san! I don't need looking after!" He objected.

I chuckled a little at the irony. That and Tsuna's relationship with his mom.

"Um," I started, "actually, I was wondering if you needed help cleaning up the kitchen?"

She smiled warmly at me. "That'd be such help! I got over-excited and made too much and ended up with so many dishes to wash!"

I smiled and fidgeted a little. "Where do I start?"

It only took about thirty minutes with the three of us (not including Reborn, of course, who had gone to bed) all cleaning up. Nana and I had rinsed the dishes in the sink while Tsuna loaded the dishwasher. It was pretty efficient, actually. Well, it _would _have been efficient had I not been horrible at washing dishes. That's why it took thirty minutes in the first place.

All said and done I was feeling pretty useless.

"My, Kei-chan, it's like you've never washed dishes before!" Nana chimed with a giggle.

I laughed nervously, not saying anything back.

The fact was that I hadn't, actually. But I wouldn't mention that.

Before I could do anything to muffle it, a yawn escaped my lips. I could only cover it with my hands and flush a little afterwards.

Nana fretted a little. "Oh, if I knew you were so tired I'd have sent you home, already!"

"Oh, no," I assured her with a tired smile, "the fatigue only just hit."

The matron frowned, but seemed convinced enough. "Well, if you say so. Will you be leaving, now, Kei-chan?" She inquired.

I nodded, stifling another yawn. "Yeah, I suppose so, before it gets...oh." I had looked to the window while speaking and noticed that, yeah, it was definitely already dark. The streetlights had already kicked on.

Nana hummed and frowned again. I looked to her in question.

"You know, I think I'll have Tsu-kun walk Kei-chan home, after all."

"Eh?!" We both chorused.

"No complaining, both of you," she sternly commanded.

I was actually quite surprised with myself when I immediately shut my mouth, my teeth clacking.

"I won't have my son let a girl walk home by herself after dark," she looked pointedly at me, "whether they're strong or not." She sniffed a little. "It's bad principle."

I sighed inwardly at Japan's more... traditional ways.

Tsuna sighed outwardly in defeat, though he looked more tired than anything. He'd had a long day, too, I reminded myself.

Nana quickly ushered us to the door. I was almost startled when she grasped my shoulders gently, but firmly with yet another warm smile on her face.

"Now, you come back whenever you want for supper or to visit, you hear me?" I blinked in surprise and began to speak when she continued, "My instincts tell me that you don't eat nearly as properly as you should!"

I could feel my cheeks flush at her hospitality and concern. She had just met me hours before and now she was inviting me to come back and eat more of their food. I apparently didn't say anything fast enough, so she pressed for a response.

"Understood?" Her tone was stern, though she was still smiling.

I jumped a little, but nodded lamely.

Her smile widened. "Good. Now, off you two go. You should be getting home, Kei-chan. And Tsuna, be back at least before nine, alright?"

And with that we were shut out of the house.

* * *

Tsuna sweatdropped. "How long does she think this will take...?"

Just then, a bundle of joy made itself unignorable in Kaylin and she broke into a fit of giggles. She laughed so much that she had almost doubled over in mirth before she could catch her breath, her crimson braid sliding over her shoulder. Her cheeks hurt and she had to wipe a tear from her eye. She couldn't knock the smile from her face even as she saw Tsuna looking at her a little strangely.

He had been rather startled at the seemingly sudden outburst. He was almost concerned for her mental health, wondering if she was more tired than she let on. But he was also a little concerned for himself...

Her voice was still a little breathless as she spoke, "I'm sorry! It's just been so long since I've been this happy," she confessed. She supposed the giggles made her a little talkative.

Tsuna looked mildly concerned at her statement as they started walking.

She had already spoken, so she decided to elaborate a little. "That was the first home-cooked meal I've had in...ages."

She smiled a little wryly at his surprised expression, but the emotion quickly faded as she let the happiness from before settle back over her.

"I've been dealing with the mafia for as long as I can remember."

_'As long as she can remember?' _He couldn't help but wonder what kind of life she had lived prior to moving here. Reborn had said that she was a first-rate hitman, but he still wasn't sure how seriously he took all of this mafia business.

"I moved around all the time, mostly in the midwest and west coast of the States. That's a lot of area to cover, so I never settled down anywhere for any reasonable length of time." She laughed a little to herself as she remembered, "Most of my meals were frozen first."

Tsuna deadpanned a little, and the redhead laughed at him. "I can't deny how bad that was. But I was a kid fending for myself. I didn't know or learn any other way to live." She frowned. "I still don't really."

Why was she telling him all of this? He was her boss now (though he didn't quite realize it, yet) sure, but they didn't _actually _know each other well. He probably didn't want to know any of this. Kaylin glanced at him and blinked in surprise.

He actually looked like he was listening. His brows were a little furrowed, a little frown on his face. Until he realized what he was doing and quickly looked away with a jump.

Something made Kaylin finish what she was meaning to say. "Sorry about that bit of my life story. The point was that...I guess your mom surprised me, is all." She huffed a little laugh. "A bit of a culture shock." She fiddled with her wristband a little, but Tsuna didn't really take notice as he curiously watched her expression change under the light of a street lamp.

Kaylin shook off the warm feeling in her chest at the thought of the events of that evening and grinned sheepishly at Tsuna. "I haven't even let you say a thing since we've been outside."

"Ah! N-no, that's okay." He smiled nervously, reminding himself to talk a little slowly for hersince she was a foreigner. "I was listening to your story, after all."

Kaylin looked away and smiled despite herself. This kid's definitely Vongola boss material.

Tsuna glanced at her as she hummed to herself.

She suddenly turned to him and said conversationally, "You're mom's a really good cook, huh?"

Tsuna sweatdropped a little at the sudden change of subject. He decided it would just be easier to go with it and nodded. "Nn, I guess she is."

Kaylin snorted. "She _definitely _is. I didn't think I even _liked _Japanese food before I ate that weird noodle and vegetable stuff." She patted her belly at the memory.

Tsuna snorted at her description of the rather common food. "That's yakisoba. You didn't know what that was called?" He questioned, looking up at her curiously. (He was still rather upset that a girl in his own grade was so much taller than him.)

The redhead's cheeks puffed out and she crossed her arms as she answered, "I only moved here four days ago! All I've been eating is Western food from frozen meals. That and rice with sugar."

The boy balked. "With sugar?! You're supposed to eat it with salt!"

Kaylin's expression didn't change. "But it's better with sugar..."

Tsuna sweatdropped, but his curiosity didn't fade any. "So..." Kaylin's indignation faded as she glanced at him, arms swinging back down to her sides. "You've never been to Japan before moving to Namimori?"

She shook her head. "Nope. I've only ever lived in America. Although I _was _in Italy for a few months prior to coming here, so I flew from there." She refused to think of the rest of her time in Italy. In fact, this was getting a little too close to home for her. "But I only consider that time more of an extended vacation." She tried to make a conclusive statement about Italy, trying to avoid further talk on the subject.

A weird feeling in Tsuna's gut made him notice her apparent growing discomfort. He had no idea what the problem could be, but he didn't want her to have to deal with it because of his stupid questions. He (lamely) changed the subject as best (still lamely) as he could. "Y-you, um, you speak Japanese really well!" He laughed nervously, desperately trying to keep the atmosphere light.

Kaylin noticed his efforts with a grin and (not that humbly) accepted the praise. "I'm actually rather proud of my language skills! My whole life I didn't realize it until I tried to learn Italian. I managed to become fluent in a month. Same for Japanese. Although," her grin turned a little embarrassed, "I still can't read any Japanese other than hiragana and some katakana. I can't read any kanji to save my life."

Tsuna looked away and laughed ruefully. He struggled with kanji himself.

His attention was drawn back to her as she exclaimed, "But, I'm learning! I've almost got katakana down, and I've got this -" she pulled something rectangular out of her pocket and brandished it proudly. Tsuna looked at the device interestedly as she continued, "It instantly translates any language to English in real-time for me."

Tsuna's eyebrows shot into his hair. "Eh?! It can do that?!"

Kaylin grinned in triumph at his reaction and pocketed the device once more. "Nn! I'll have to show it off some time." Tsuna actually found himself laughing at her enthusiasm.

Kaylin snorted and laughed herself.

They continued walking in companionable silence, surprisingly used to each other's presence.

"Ah, we're almost here." She furrowed her brows and turned to Tsuna, who looked at her in question as she stopped walking. "Um, we should probably part ways here, Tsuna." Before he could ask why she continued, "It's after dark, and...my apartment complex is in a bit of a rough area..." She trailed off, looking at him apologetically.

Tsuna blinked and then jerked in surprise. "Now that you mention it...!" He looked around almost frantically and Kaylin was a little worried he'd pop his neck.

"Well, we should be fine at this distance...maybe..." She trailed off uncertainly.

Tsuna snapped his head back to look at her. "Maybe?!"

She seemed to shrink a little and Tsuna reigned himself in, but was unable to keep his gaze from checking every shadow for even a little movement.

"W-well, I guess I'll go, then." She told him, _trying _not to feel bad.

He glanced at her and nodded. He hated to be rude to her, but he _really _wanted to not go any further into a rough neighborhood after dark.

Kaylin began to walk away with a little wave, managing a pretty (both in the 'rather' and 'sort of actually a little pretty as noted by Tsuna' sense) warm smile. "I'll see you in the morning, Tsuna."

He started to back away, getting kind of twitchy. "A-ah, I'll see you at school." As soon as he rounded that corner he was going to sprint like his life depended on it because it maybe _did _and don't panic yet, Tsuna, it'll be fine, just -

"Oh, Tsuna!"

He was snapped back from his almost panicking thoughts as Kaylin called back to him from several meters away. He looked back at her with wide eyes, almost desperate to get back into the safety of his home. _'God, I'm such a wimp!'_

"Tell..um..."

He cocked an eyebrow at her sudden hesitation. He couldn't see it from there, but Kaylin was rather grateful for the cover of night as she fought the urge to hide her cheeks; she knew they were probably nice and pink by now.

"Um...tell your mom that I said t-thank you, okay? She, um, it was really nice of her to offer supper...to a stranger like me." As soon as she was finished, she took off at a jog down the road with a 'bye, then!' tossed over her shoulder, not waiting for a reply.

Tsuna furrowed his brows at that.

But he was quickly yanked out of his ponderings as he saw a shadow move in the corner of his eye (it was a cat).

With a 'hiiiee!' he took off around the corner at a breakneck (for him) speed.

He reached home and nearly immediately went into his room (nearly getting beaten to death for waking Reborn). Why was he sleeping in _Tsuna's_ room, anyways?!

Although he did remember to tell his mom what Kaylin said.


	5. A(nother) New Kid In Town

**Mutt: You know, I probably should ha -**

**Kei: Definitely.**

**Mutt - **_**definitely **_**should have posted a disclaimer before now.**

**Tsuna: Hiiee! You haven't done that yet? Can't we get in trouble for that?!**

**Kei: **_**She **_**can get in trouble for that.**

**Tsuna: That's still bad, though!**

**Mutt: Aw, he cares! And I didn't even poop him out of my brain!**

**Tsuna: What are you talking about?!**

**Kei: Dude, wtf.**

**Mutt: Oh, speaking of which -**

**Disclaimer: Reborn! and all of its original contents are not my brain poop! The only thing I claim to have pooped is -**

**Kei: DON'T.**

**Mutt: - my OC.**

**Kei: ...**

**Mutt: I had to, man. You're my brain baby. I am your -**

**Kei: Don't fucking -**

**Mutt: - brain mother.**

**Kei: **_**Son of a -**_

**Tsuna: On with the story! Na? **_**Na?!**_

* * *

**Also warning: traumatized angst in this chapter.**

**If it's too much somehow, just let me know and I'll try not to do it in the future, 'kay?**

* * *

So Reborn thought it would be a great idea to wake me up at 6:30 in the morning. School started at, what, 8:30?

I was asleep that morning (like I was supposed to be, like a good student) in a heap in my futon (which I was still getting used to, by the way), which was a tangled, floppy mess (again, still adjusting). I had been sleeping lightly (a skill required for a life of killing), so I immediately pushed myself up and into a kneeling position when I heard the window rattle.

Although I was more or less still asleep, as I was moving solely on instinct.

"The...hell...?" I slurred in my maiden language. "Maiden language" is a thing and I was exhausted, so shut up. I glanced around wearily, fighting back the urge to yawn so I could stay as alert as possible. I spotted Reborn balancing on the window sill. And then I spotted Hina on his shoulder.

_"Relax, Kaylin. He sought me out while I was doing rounds; I showed him the back door, as it were. Did you know that he can understand me?"_

I blinked blearily. Then I shifted my weight until I plopped inelegantly onto my backside with a little huff, letting out the yawn I had stifled while I covered my eyes with my hand and leaned the connecting elbow on my knee.

"Good morning," Reborn seemed to chirp with his baby voice.

"Mneeuh."

Without commenting on my lack of coherent words, the baby proceeded to completely invade my home by hopping down from the window sill. Hina proceeded to hop down from him and scurried over to me, where she buried herself under the futon, only to stick her face back out so she could watch/listen to whatever the hell it was that was going to follow.

* * *

"Sorry to wake you so early on a school day."

For some reason Kaylin doubted the sincerity of his words, but didn't point that out. She pushed her severely disshelved hair away from her face and twisted it into some sort of half-assed bun, securing it at the top of her head with a hair tie from her wrist. Reborn lifted an amused eyebrow at the state of her usually shiny, if always somewhat messy, locks of deep crimson.

Despite her lethargic state, Kaylin picked up on the baby's attitude. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I need coffee now. Want some?" Before he could answer she had already stumbled to her feet. She tossed a lazy grin his way as she turned to the kitchen. "I bought some whipped cream and sprinkles."

The infant smirked a little himself at her (sort of) enthusiasm. "Then make it your fanciest espresso." The girl gave a somewhat impressive cackle as she vanished into the kitchen for a moment.

Reborn surveyed Kaylin's living space. The futon was a mess and the kotatsu was simply pushed off to the side to make room. He inwardly sighed. He had his work cut out for him with her case, too. In a different way than he did with Tsuna.

An incredibly loud yawn was heard from the kitchen and Kaylin sluggishly leaned on the frame of the entryway to the kitchen. She yawned once more before she finally asked, "So, should I be concerned?"

Reborn smirked and replied, "That's actually why I came here so early; so that you wouldn't be."

Kaylin gave a small frown and furrowed her brows. Reborn elaborated.

"I called someone from Italy to try to kill Tsuna."

"You did what?!" All of her sleepiness just kamikaze'd out the window and she looked like she was about to rant Reborn's ears off, so he quickly continued; angering a teenage girl was not anywhere near his to-do list.

"It's for the purpose of expanding Tsuna's family."

"How?!"

He jumped right in. "Hurricane Bomb Hayato. Have you heard of him?"

She had been about to snap at him for his cryptic bullshit, but she realized that the name rang a bell. "Actually, yeah... He was that... kid that killed dozens of bosses of small-ish mafia families in Sicily when he was like eight, right?"

Reborn nodded. "He was actually a little older, though. Now he's around Tsuna's age."

Kaylin hummed in thought as she turned around to get the coffee. She took a few minutes to prepare it, then walked back into the living room with two frothy mugs of fancy espresso coffee in her hands. "And he - lemme pull up the table - he's who you called?"

Reborn nodded as he observed her deftly pull the kotatsu over to the middle of the room with her foot. She kicked her futon out of the way, making Hina jump up onto the table an instant beforehand to avoid being kicked, too. She sat the mugs onto the table and thudded onto her backside. Reborn hopped onto the table himself and took a seat beside his coffee. He picked it up and smelled it in appraisal before taking a sip.

It was surprisingly rather good.

Kaylin barely bothered to taste what she drank as she gulped down several swigs of the stuff. She set the mug down with a thump. Reborn amusedly noted how she reminded him of someone who took a long drink of alcohol after a long day. Leon dropped from his partner's fedora and scuttled over to rest next to Hina. It seemed like the two began talking to each other.

Kaylin pinched the bridge of her nose. Many thoughts and complaints were running amok in her head - too many to even attempt to make much sense of after having just woke up. She figured it wasn't much use to flip out on him before she knew anything, so she held her fingertips to her forehead in a tired gesture and refrained from doing such. "So... what should I know about this kid?"

Straight to the point, Reborn thought.

"His full name is Gokudera Hayato. I assume you've gathered from his alias that he uses explosives?" She nodded, so he continued. "You'll find out rather quickly without me telling you, but his choice of weapons, namely dynamite, quite fits his temperament."

"Fantastic."

"I don't know that much about him personally other than that." Little bitty fib. "However, we'll certainly get the opportunity to learn about him firsthand."

Kaylin's stomach dropped at the mischievous tone of his voice. "That's because...?"

Reborn smirked at her unease. "He's a transfer student in your and Tsuna's class tomorrow."

Kaylin's mouth dropped and the information clicked. "Wait, wait, wait - you said that all of this was for the purpose of expanding Tsuna's family - you intend for this kid to join?"

"That's the idea."

The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose again, a few locks falling from her updo. "And he's going to attack Tsuna."

Reborn nodded.

"And you expect that the kid's going to lose."

Reborn smirked and nodded again.

"And by the rule of the family, he'll be forced to become Tsuna's subordinate that way."

"That's right."

"Son of a - I know you're aware of how dangerous this is!"

Reborn calmly took a sip of his coffee. "In Dying Will Mode, Tsuna won't lose."

"I know that, but the kid uses fucking dynamite. And he'll be going for the kill -!"

"Have a little more faith in your boss, Kaylin."

The girl stopped talking, her mouth froze open. Then she leaned her head on her hand and sighed before taking a long, long drink of her coffee.

"Because we clearly need another volatile personality around here," she mumbled resignedly. Reborn smirked again. So she admits it? He got on with the subject, though.

"His first day of school is tomorrow, but he arrived in Namimori some time yesterday."

Kaylin thought out loud, "So he'll be lurking around Tsuna by now. Is Tsuna safe for today?"

"I doubt Gokudera will make a move until tomorrow. Today he should just be observing."

Kaylin hummed, and began to lift her mug of coffee to her lips, but stopped midway. "There shouldn't be much to observe, though...right?"

Another smirk. "You catch on quickly, you know that? Today, Tsuna will be participating in a volleyball game between your class and class 1-C."

Another dropped jaw. "...What did you do." Her voice was flat.

Reborn frowned. "I'm hurt. What makes you think I did anything?"

"Of course you did something! How the hell did Tsuna get into that kind of position?"

The baby sniffed and looked away. "They ran out of regulars."

"..."

"And substitutes."

Kaylin groaned and slammed her head onto the kotatsu. Her muffled voice pushed its way over to Reborn. "What, did you give them food poisoning or something?"

"..."

Wait, what?

She peered up to see Reborn facing away from her, drinking his coffee.

"...I was right?"

Sip.

"...Um." Wait, had she hurt his pride?

Sip.

"...The sky's so blue, today," Reborn said with a dreamy voice to no one in particular.

...

_'Well, shit.'_

* * *

I had somehow managed to mend Reborn's pride by the time he decided that it was time for him to get back home and wake Tsuna for school and tell him of his participation in the volleyball game that day. He said he'd inform Tsuna of the transfer student tomorrow, when it was pertinent.

Before he left, I told him to tell Tsuna that I probably wouldn't be at school today and that I said "good luck with the game." He didn't ask me why I would be skipping school, so I assumed that he knew what I had planned.

While I really did want to be there to cheer Tsuna on, I wanted a chance to look into this kid myself, before he made a move. Reborn told me to have faith in Tsuna. I did trust him. I believed Reborn when he said that Tsuna would win in his Dying Will Mode. Who I didn't trust was this new kid.

"Gokudera Hayato." I sounded the name out.

_"What are you thinking?"_

I glanced at Hina, who was still settled onto the kotatsu, and walked over to her, kneeling down. She stopped her grooming and glanced at me, ears perked and head tilted.

"I'm going to hit up one of my old information networks, I think. Maybe call in a favor that I've yet to trade in."

The little fuzzball tilted her head at me, peering up to me with her... well, with her beady eyes. _"Are you going out?"_

I nodded and hummed. "I'll have to use a payphone. Good thing I break so many bills at the school store," I muttered. "And then I'll need to track down an internet cafe or something."

I stood up with an out of shape huff and stretched before I opened the closet and pulled out some jeans and one of my many (conservative, as I am in Japan) tank tops.

I had a chance to restock my wardrobe after being rescued in Italy, since nothing I used to own fit anymore, what with puberty and that kind of jazz. You'd think I'd have been scrawny after two years as a guinea pig, mostly strapped to a table the whole time, but I was kept surprisingly well-nourished. I didn't need any physical rehabilitation, either, since my muscles apparently couldn't atrophy. That was a plus, I guess.

I didn't bother going into the bathroom, as I couldn't see the street from where I stood. I was on the second floor, anyways - no one could see inside.

Which brought to my attention the fact that Reborn came and exited through my window.

_Don't question it._ I told myself. _Probably just used Leon somehow._

Settling on that (actually reasonable) answer, I proceeded to change. I looked down at myself once I had stripped to my underclothes. My movements slowed considerably, the mood in the room...dampening. I brushed my fingers along the strange scars on my stomach.

There was odd scar tissue there. At first it looked like a pink indent, but on closer inspection and after a little prodding, one could see the...oddity of the scars. There was a layer of skin that was particularly translucent over the scars - more than one layer in the nastier ones.

Usually when I healed, it was seamless. A few years ago, I thought that it'd be that way no matter what. That bubble burst after the...harsher experiments began. I learned that, like I told Reborn when we first met, if a certain amount of damage is done in a short period of time, it leaves something of a scar.

The tissue was more fragile, I had come to learn. It felt more fragile, too. Looked more fragile. Like it was barely there.

Suddenly there was a feeling of a vice around my lungs. The air seemed to thicken, like I was struggling to breathe through a damp towel. All of my limbs felt like they were pushing against the memories that invaded my mind with all of their might, and I started to shake.

There were scars that looked like cuts, some clumsy, some surgical-looking. I remembered how _don'trememberit_... There were oblong blotches that came from various kinds of acids. Those hurt. Acid broke through _pleasedon'trememberit. _But the worst was when _ohgoddon'trememberit -_

_"Kaylin?"_

The scars weren't on my hand anymore, but I remembered them. I remembered them. One time they broke my finger but they didn't let go. They didn't let go _don'trememberit _held _**don'trememberit **_pulled -

_**don't remember**_

_**for**_

_**get**_

_"Kaylin!"_

I jerked and froze. I pulled in a shaking breath and clasped my hands together to stop the trembling that had started without me noticing. I had started hyperventilating at some point, too. With the sudden large intake of oxygen, I got momentarily dizzy and had to brace myself on the closet door.

_Breathe,_ I directed myself._ Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Slow and steady._

I looked down and saw that Hina was standing up on her hind legs on my foot, little forepaws braced on my calf, supporting herself and me. Her worry was tangible.

_"Kaylin -"_

**"I'm fine," **I barked. I winced at the shakiness in my voice. That, and at the pain in my chest.

_"Kaylin, don't you _dare_ lie to me about this."_

I didn't reply as I put my hand to my chest and focused on my breathing, assessing the pain.

_"Kaylin, are you having an attack?"_

**"Don't think so."** I was being honest; my voice was more stable, and my breathing wasn't getting worse. I shouldn't have let myself get so worked up like that. I knew the state of my lungs was sometimes iffy... **"I think I'm fine."** I said shortly, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

One last deep breath and I stood up straight. Shook my head, banishing any remaining negative thoughts. I put on my tank top. I shook my foot, sending Hina hopping away from me as I pulled my jeans on. I shook out my legs and arms, then made sure my sweatband was securely in the right place on my forearm, hiding the one scar on my arm.

_"Kaylin..."_

"I'll be fine," I assured her, switching back over to Japanese. "It's over. Now, I gotta pee." I stomped away, muttering something like,** "Freakin' caffeine, man."**

I had realized my mistake already. I refused to linger in the subject any longer than that.

* * *

I tracked down a payphone in the shopping district of Namimori, specifically an area with lots of groceries. I was relatively surprised at how busy it was this time of the morning; housewives - and a few men - were hitting up some sales on some - was that watermelon? Well, it was summer.

And incidentally this worked out - no one would notice me in the crowd. Not that people noticing me would have made me feel suddenly guilty about not going to school. I had been the scum of society in my childhood, anyways.

...Funny how that was suddenly starting to bother me, though.

I had already done some figuring in my head - it was roughly 9:00 am now, meaning it was around 4:00 pm on the west coast of the States. A little early for the guy I was calling, but he should at least be about to set up shop by now...

It had been forever (more than two years, actually) since I'd talked to this person in particular, so I was admittedly a little nervous. _He should remember me, right?_ I thought as I started dialing the number that my muscles remembered after years of having dialed it every other week or so.

_Ri - click._

I jerked. _That was fucking _fast!

_"What the hell kind of number is this?"_

_..._

I sweat-dropped.

_"You have two seconds before -"_

"It's Kaylin!" I blurted without much thought, easily slipping into English.

There was silence; I didn't even hear him breathing into the receiver. I was concerned that he had hung up anyways before he broke the silence by speaking in a low voice that almost gave me chills.

_"I'd curse you so much my mother would blush if I didn't recognize your voice. But voices can be faked."_

Knowing what he was getting at, I hurriedly moved to prove myself. "My favorite food is your mother's apple cobbler. And don't forget to call her, by the way," I said in a rush.

There was more silence on the other line.

Then I abruptly had to pull the phone away from my ear as laughter erupted from the other end so loudly it seemed to cause interference, making the line crackle. The voice gasped and I could picture the man wiping crocodile tears from his eyes as he spoke.

_"I can't believe you remembered that!"_

I puffed out my cheeks indignantly. "Of course I remembered! That was our thing, Jonny!"

_"Yeah, Kaylin. It _was._"_

I winced at the tone in his voice, his laughter being completely forgotten by both of us. His mood swung just as wildly as I remembered it doing. Jonny was a trusted contact of mine from Las Vegas - there were loads of mafia dealings in Vegas; you coudn't turn a corner without being stink-eyed by some Mafioso or another.

He had become a sort of uncle figure to me after my mom had died. I had even met his mother a few times when she came to visit his (gay) bar, where I often went to gather some information on a job. She knew he dealt with the mafia, and she figured out that I did, too. Otherwise her son wouldn't deal with me so much, even if he took a liking to me.

She cooed after me and spoiled me like a relatively young grandmother would her grandchild. Hence, how I came to fall in love with her apple cobbler.

_"Where the hell have you been? It's been two fucking years."_ I could practically hear him scowling, then I jumped as he shouted at someone, presumably an employee, _"Fucking do it yourself! I'm conducting business, here, holy shit!"_

...I suddenly recalled where I got my potty mouth.

...Then again, _he _got his potty mouth from his mother.

"Well..." I hesitated. I wasn't ready to talk about what actually happened, yet. And knowing him, he'd just fret himself to death and shout my ear off.

_"Kaylin?" _He impatiently prompted.

"I was sort of...out of commission in Italy for a while."

_"...You were what?"_

I winced at my weak excuse. It wasn't even a lie and it was still unconvincing.

"Look, I'm actually calling on business, Jonny - shit, hold up. Gotta put some damn..change in the stupid...fuck." I struggled to juggle the phone and my wallet, fumbling some change into the slot so the stupid automated voice would stop nagging me. Task completed, I continued dodging the question, "I need you to hunt down every bit of information you can find about someone for me."

_"...I think you're dead for two years, you call all of a sudden _on business -_ You expect me to be okay with that?!"_

"...Jonny... I really am not capable of talking about it right now. I appreciate your concern, but I swear to you that I'm fine, now. I really need you to just do this for me, okay?"

I prayed to the gods of the land that his understanding and leniency toward me would pervade into this circumstance.

_"...Oookay..." _I could tell by his voice that he was nowhere near satisfied. He sighed and conceded. _"Fine. But you're going to lay my concerns to rest as soon as you can, no arguments."_

I sighed, but I knew that went much better than it could have, so I grabbed the opportunity and ran with it. "Understood."

_"...So, you calling in a favor or am I gonna finally get money out of you?"_

I snorted at him. "I know you know better than that."

_"Right, so you're mooching, again."_

"Yes."

He sighed and I heard him rustling around some papers, probably getting ready to write shit down for me.

_"'Kay. Shoot."_

Down to business, I straightened. Old habits.

"Gokudera Hayato. He's a kid affiliated with the mafia, from Italy. Sicily, I think. Aliases are 'Hurricane Bomb Hayato' and 'Smokin' Bomb Hayato.'" I paused and listened to him scribble away, no doubt in his personal version of shorthand.

He stopped writing, all business himself. _"Okay... What kind of information are you looking for?"_

"Absolutely everything."

He snorted. _"You're lucky I'm a nice, forgiving guy, you know that?"_

I smiled softly to myself. I really was lucky.

_"Send it to you via the usual?"_

"Yeah. ASAP, please."

_"Yeah, yeah." _He scribbled at his paper again.

I looked behind me at the bustling residents of Namimori. I began to think about where an internet cafe could be in a town like Namimori...Business district? Was there such a thing as a restaurant district? Probably. I suppose I could just ask around... But I'd like to avoid questions... Well, I'm a foreigner, so maybe they'd just take any weird occurrences around me in stride. I hoped so.

_"Kaylin." _Jonny's deep bass snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned back toward the phone, like I could show him that he had my attention with the motion.

"Yeah?"

_"..." _He didn't say anything at first, and I tilted my head. Again, like he could see that.

"What's up, Jonny?" I asked. Although I felt a little apprehensive at his tone. I hoped he wouldn't go mama bear on me...again. Even if it _was_ warranted.

_"...Whatever happened," _I almost gulped. Yep. _Feelings._ _"Just...I'm glad you're okay, alright?"_

...I can't say that I didn't expect something like that from him, but... All the same, I felt my chest clench a little painfully.

Jonny cleared his throat awkwardly, apparently done with _feeling _for the moment.

_"Well, um. I'll have the information in your inbox promptly. Give me a couple of hours."_

I'm sure he could here the smile in my voice as I thanked him.

"Oh, Jonny?"

_"What?"_

"Seriously, though, don't forget to call your mom."

_"Goddammit, Kaylin, you -" _I cut him off by hanging up with a cackle. He absolutely hated it when I nagged him about his mother. And though it had been two years, he reacted just like I had expected him to.

I gave a contented sigh as I stepped away from the payphone, dodging a few disgruntled housewives.

I really had missed him.

Though I wouldn't dare tell him that.

* * *

I took a long, _long _sip of my coffee as I stared at the computer screen.

_...No wonder the kid has a volatile temper._

Sunlight filtered through the glass walls of the internet cafe I'd found, completely eliminating the need for artificial lighting today. The setting was refreshing, there weren't many people there. The coffee was good. Internet was nice and anonymous.

And yet I sighed. I took another drink of my coffee, scrolling back up through the information Jonny had sent me with my free hand, looking back over the words and summarizing things in my mind. First I reviewed the things that weren't so hard to find.

Gokudera Hayato came from a very wealthy family - as in 'oh look it's a castle' wealthy. He lived with his father and older sister. When he was younger he was a piano prodigy. He played classic and regular contemporary things at first. And _then _he got popular on top of the natural respect given to geniuses. He started playing "avante garde" and "modern" stuff. That was the real hit.

That went on until he was about eight. Then he ran away from home. The rumors were that he had overheard staff talking about how he was an illegitimate child. He then apparently went from family to family, seeking a new place to be and was promptly rejected by each.

At some point he then went to each and every family that had denied him and killed their bosses and many other members via dynamite.

A kid.

I sighed and scrolled down further. Now I was looking at information that came by more sparsely, that was harder to find. This is what Jonny was good at. Now I was getting to the meat of Gokudera Hayato's story.

I learned that when he was quite young he was instructed in piano playing by a certain woman until he was three years old. On his third birthday, when the woman was driving to the boy's home, she had an accident - specifically her car went off a cliff. As could be guessed, she died.

Much speculation was to be had about the cause of the incident. Suicide seemed to be ruled out, as she had a present for Gokudera with her in the car. She had intended to bring him the gift, so it didn't make sense that she would chose to kill herself then. There was no turn on the road at the time, either, so it seems unlikely that the brakes stopped working and they she crashed in front of that. Of course, this may lead others to conclude to murder. There wasn't sufficient proof of such, however.

My mood steadily decreased when I first read the next bit of information, which concerned Gokudera's mother. Rereading it didn't seem to be any easier.

As mentioned earlier, he overheard staff gossiping about his mother, and how she wasn't the same as his elder sister's. More to the point, she was a a beautiful woman that caught his father's heart immediately.

She happened to be a pianist.

At that point during the first scan of the text I could infer as to what that was leading to.

As was mafia law, Gokudera's mother could visit him only three times a year and couldn't tell him who she was. So she took to teaching him piano.

I sighed as I imagined what had happened, though I knew I shouldn't.

The pretty woman that used to teach him piano but had suddenly stopped coming, he learned, was his mother. I could only morbidly guess what kind of thoughts had gone through his head. I didn't even want to try. I imagined the hurt, though. I imagined a feeling of betrayal, of being lied to. That was fair, after all. That was natural.

I looked back through the pictures of the kid, all of them of when he was younger, roughly ages four through eight. He was a cute kid. He looked happy, too. Of course he did. At the time he was an innocent little boy, happily playing the piano for an audience that gladly applauded him.

And then, by some cruel stroke of luck, his innocence was ripped from him. All from the gossiping of some stupid maids.

After one last obligatory scroll, committing everything to memory, I shut down the computer, making sure to completely get rid of the files out of habit. I sighed once more and stood, stretching and looking out the window with watery eyes from the effort. It was about noon by now, and I wondered if Tsuna's game had started. Reborn hadn't mentioned a time.

After that depressing session of being a responsible little Mafioso, I needed a little uplifting.

Well, I had gotten all of the information that I wanted and then some. Not like I could get much more accomplished playing hookie, unless I somehow ran into the guy. I wasn't _that _lucky, and Namimori's size wasn't anything to laugh at.

I threw an awkward smile at the employee of the cafe over my shoulder as he called for me to have a nice day. He was cheery. Asshat. Although, he didn't question why I wasn't in school or something, so that was cool of him.

Exiting the building I squinted up at the sun. It was bright as shit. Summer was approaching and it was getting hot. At least I was wearing a tank top at the moment.

Then I groaned as I remembered that no, you can't wear a tank top to school in Japan.

Shit.

Well, at least I had gotten around to buying the short-sleeved shirt of the uniform. It was too hot to even roll up my stupid sleeves in this stupid country - okay, I didn't mean that. Japan's pretty cool. Neat. Not cool. Japan was hot as fuck. Not even in the good way. Incidentally, I also bought the school blazer and vest. I shivered at the thought of winter clothes in this heat.

Whatever.

Done loitering and complaining to myself, I made off toward my apartment to get changed. I kept a jogging pace (why not get some exercise?) even as I finally made my way up the creaky stairs to my humble apartment, quickly unlocking the door as I reached it.

Making quick work of getting changed, I checked my phone for the time. Oh. It was just past eleven.

Jonny sure made quick work of that request.

_Holy shit I can make it in time for lunch!_

That joyous thought in mind I sprinted out the door, nearly forgetting my school bag.

I cursed (loudly) and hurried to grab the thing, then re-sprinted back out the door, locking it before pounding down the stairs.

I _had _to get there in time. I wanted me some melon bread.

* * *

A young man strolled the grounds of Namimori Middle School. Or, as he liked to think of it, his territory.

His eyes were sharp in the assessment of the order he personally enforced. So far today, not a twig out of place. The herbivores were crowding around the area, as it was lunch time, but they weren't crowding near _him._

He leisurely paced himself as he walked across the front area of the school grounds, near the gate, keeping a distance from the students eating lunch there, noting with disinterest the furtive glances many herbivores threw his direction.

His sharp ears then caught the sound of footsteps. _Thundering _footsteps. He paused ,, turning his head to gaze at the school gate. Not a second later, a blur of the school uniform plus red hair tore around the corner and through the gate and skid to a halt, doubling over to rest her hands on her trouser-clad knees, panting.

He narrowed his eyes at the creature before him. A student was late for school.

Before he could even shift his weight to begin fully facing the girl, she stiffened and her head snapped up to stare wide-eyed at him as he turned. He offhandedly recalled seeing this herbivore before. She didn't exactly cause trouble, but the fact that she refused to wear the correct uniform irritated him, though it wasn't technically against the rules, therefore she escaped being bitten to death by technicality.

This, however, was perhaps worthy of his wrath.

"You're late," he simply stated, eyeing her response. He was gauging whether or not she irritated him enough to be attacked.

She seemed to blink owlishly out of a daze as she straightened somewhat. Her stance was incredibly wary, and she didn't make a move to step closer. At least she wasn't an idiot, he thought.

She cleared her throat before speaking in a clear voice, if a bit tense.

"I, um. Yeah. I'm very, _very _sorry about that." She shuffled her feet nervously, never taking her eyes off of his.

"You think an apology excuses tardiness?" Though it didn't particularly sound like a question.

The redhead laughed anxiously, having completely forgotten about lunch. She glanced around him, to the door. He noticed, but didn't care.

"No, it really doesn't, huh? But, see, I'd really like to salvage the situation and avoid missing any more lessons, so if I could just be excused, now..." She begun to edge her way around him, a very nervous smile shakily clinging to her face.

He narrowed his eyes at her once more.

Not good enough.

In a single movement that most people couldn't hope to see, he whirled a tonfa out of its place at his back and swung it in a vicious arc at the offending girl's red head. With a resounding crack, the herbivore was struck down and crumpled to the ground.

Or she should have.

Just when he expected to connect with her skull, she dropped down and his weapon only wacked the braid trailing after her head. His eyes widened minutely despite himself. He'll admit that he didn't expect her to dodge that.

Not missing a beat, however, he brought his right leg up in a flash of a kick aimed once more at her head. Not quite surprising him this time, she managed to leap out of the way, landing a meter behind where she once crouched. She stared up at him with wide steel eyes.

He couldn't help as his eyebrows rose on his forehead.

He was about to speak when the school bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break.

The girl suddenly gasped quite loudly as her head swung to face the school building.

**"Fuck!" **She cried. She promptly tore off in the direction of school, apparently forgetting about what just happened.

The teenager's eye twitched in irritation, but his anger didn't manifest himself as it was snuffed out by the mild intrigue he felt toward the girl at the moment.

Perhaps that was a fluke..?

He replaced his tonfa in its home as students made their way back to the building, giving him a _very _wide berth, but he paid them no mind.

Their little exchange had surprised him if only for the fact that he hadn't expected a female of all people to manage to evade his attack. Twice. No one had done that in a long time.

Perhaps it _was _a fluke, after all.

Nevertheless, he'd have to keep an eye on her. He suppressed any excitement that might be building in his gut, not wanting to let his hopes get out of hand. For the meantime, he'd shrug it off.

He still wanted to bite her to death, though. Just not for breaking the rules, anymore.

* * *

What the _hell _was that?!

I sprinted down the hallway with melon bread and two milks in hand, desperately trying to make it to the gymnasium as quickly as possible.

Apparently the game was directly after lunch. And I was already late.

Too bad I couldn't remember where the _fucking gymnasium was in relation to my current location._

I wanted to avoid running around like an ass for a few reasons, but the most prevalent of those reasons was self-preservation. I did _not _want to run into that guy again.

Holy _shit _he was intense.

I had skidded to a stop inside of the school gate, barely noticing the startled glances of my fellow classmates. I was heaving, my chest hurting just slightly, as I was beginning to get a little more fit with all the recent activity.

Then I had felt a horrible chill run up and down my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

_Alert._

I jerked my head upwards in alarm and was met with a cold gaze of deep, almost black grey.

An almost peculiarly calm bass voice reached me.

"You're late."

A feeling of threat was rolling off of him in controlled waves, like he was coiling, ready to strike at a moment's notice. In an instant. I suddenly remembered that this was the boy I saw on around the second day of school, when I was hanging out the window.

He was _dangerous._

I did my best to avoid confrontation with this guy, completely forgetting about the presence of other human beings.

But, _no, _this guy was itching for an excuse.

Almost faster than I could perceive, something metallic had come flying toward my head, the apparent threat an extension of this boy's arm. The thing, a tonfa, I classified it as belatedly, very nearly collided with the side of my head, but, solely on instinct, before my eyes could even widen, I ducked into a crouch. I felt the damn thing hit my braid it was so close to rupturing my _brain._

Without hesitation he swung his leg up, apparently determined to cause me cranial injury. His foot swept by so close to my face that I think I lost a few hairs of my fringe to the force of it. I jumped back and just stared at him with wide eyes, entirely unsure of how to handle this situation.

His eyebrows raised at me and he looked like he was about to speak when the bell rang.

_Saved by the fucking bell and HOLY SHIT MY MELON BREAD._

With a gasp that made my throat feel raw and a loud expletive I tore off in the direction of the building, more than eager to escape this startlingly threatening middle schooler that was probably only my own age.

I shivered once at the memory and continued to make my way through the school, seeming to recall that the gymnasium was somewhere to the east of the main building...

It took me a few more minutes, but I finally found the damn thing without incidence. Namely, without running into the freaking horror of Namimori Middle.

* * *

Kaylin slowed to a trot, clutching her lunch to her chest, her hair surrounded by flyaways by that point. She sighed in relief as she rounded the corner to the front of the building.

Only to stop and blink at the person she saw.

No, no, not the Horror of Namichuu. Someone even more surprising.

Sensing a stare, the young man swung his forest green glare to the left, locking eyes with the wide-eyed Kaylin, who opened and closed her mouth for a moment before uttering, "Y-you!" It was freakin' Gokudera Hayato! Lady Luck was blessing her today!

His eyes narrowed at her and she shifted in surprise, blinking owlishly at him again.

"Do I know you?" He barked irritably, not removing his harsh look.

"Er, no, but I get the feeling we're going to get acquainted..." She mumbled under her breath, but he seemed to hear her.

_"Hah?" _He exclaimed incredulously.

Kaylin jerked and fumbled a bit for words. "Uh - nothing! Never mind!" She belatedly noticed that he was already in his school uniform. Blending in, she thought in the back of her mind.

The irritable pubescent teen just "tch"d in a dismissive manner, turning back to the gymnasium.

Kaylin's eye twitched, a metallic glint there. Did he just make a point of ignoring her? Shrugging off her growing irritation, she frowned at him, hesitantly making her way around him and to the other side of the entryway and peeked through the doors.

She gave a little "tch" of her own as she muttered, "Game's already started." She then promptly plopped onto the ground, setting her food and milk down in front of her, leaning against the door frame, casting sidelong glances into the gym.

The silverette swiveled his head to the lower right and affixed her with a glare/stare combo. "What the hell are you doing?"

She froze, having been just about to take a bite of her delicious and well-deserved melon bread, mouth hanging open. She blinked at him again.

"Eating," she answered innocently.

Gokudera's cheek twitched. "Why _there?!_" Next to him?!

She had to stop herself from deadpanning a look at him.

"Because I can't bring food into the gym."

His fist clenched, but he huffed and turned back to the game, determined to ignore the stupid girl with the freakishly vivid red hair. Even though his eyebrow kept twitching in protest to his efforts.

Kaylin simply returned to her munching, watching the game. She tried her best to let slide the somewhat oppressive aura her impromptu lunch companion was putting off.

She then choked on her food when she spotted Tsuna just as he fumbled the ball. Well, "fumbled" isn't the right word. He missed it completely; it bounced onto the ground and back up to hit the poor kid in the face.

Kaylin winced and Gokudera snorted in contempt.

The redhead's own eye twitched as she silently noted the tone even his _snort _carried.

_'Ignore it...' _she implored herself.

Kaylin managed to finish her first piece of bread, and opened one of the little cartons of milk she bought, washing down her first treat. Apparently the first set was finished already, as the whistle was blown for a break. Kaylin grimaced as Tsuna's teammates seemed to round on him, rather fiercely glaring.

He sheepishly said something, and the group of boys seemed somewhat placated, thought Tsuna himself seemed to look... ashamed? Kaylin's brows furrowed in concern. She glanced up at Gokudera, who looked... quite pissy, actually. She decided not to say anything.

When she looked back toward the game, she nearly missed Tsuna as he exited through a side door to go outside.

Making a quick decision she snatched up her remaining piece of bread and milk carton after downing what she had in her hand in a single gulp. She sprung to her feet and, casting a glance to Gokudera, who had an unamused eyebrow raised at her, she took off sprinting (again) around the corner of the building.

She immediately saw him at the outdoor faucets, splashing his face with the cool water.

Impulsively, she called out. "Tsuna!"

The boy in question jerked and spun around in surprise, wide-eyed.

"Kaylin?!" He balked as the taller girl skidded to a stop in front of him, making a twenty meter sprint in record time.

Kaylin belatedly noticed Reborn was standing over to the side, watching her with eyebrows raised in mild surprise.

"You showed up," the infant simply stated.

She grinned somewhat triumphantly down at him. "I have a good network."

Tsuna furrowed his brows, not following the conversation a bit. Reborn only hummed and continued to watch as one legitimate student and his other unofficial one interacted.

Said unofficial student turned to look at Tsuna again, sharp metallurgic eyes searching his soft, somewhat dismayed tawny ones.

She spoke softly, "You wanna talk about it?" She jumped straight to her concerns.

Tsuna blinked and widened his eyes in surprise at her sudden question - she had read his emotions so easily. Then his shoulders slumped as he glanced away, a small frown marring his face. Kaylin tilted her head, waiting patiently for some kind of answer.

He finally looked back up at her, and she was surprised to see a kind of determination in his eyes. Very surprised, actually, though she tried not to let it show.

Tsuna shook his head, fuzzy hair bobbing a little with the motion. He just looked at her earnestly. Kaylin blinked and searched his eyes again. Then, apparently satisfied, a small, genuine smile graced her, making Tsuna blink once. Before his cheeks could manage to warm at the sight, though, Kaylin quickly wacked his shoulder with the back of her hand with the bread in it, hard enough to turn him around and she gave him a rough shove with her knuckles toward the direction of the door.

"Then get in there and kick some ass!"

He stumbled to a stop and turned his head back at her, wide-eyed and mouth hanging open in shock. The redhead grinned at him and made a shooing motion.

"Go, already. Do everything you can. That's all you need."

Tsuna straightened, gaze hardening. Her words resonating with him, he nodded once, then jogged back into the gymnasium.

_'Do everything I can,'_ he thought. _'She's right. I got cocky and accepted the offer, thinking I could just use the Dying Will bullet to do what they all work so hard for.' _He looked up at his teammates, shoulders now squared. _'I'll do everything I can... And then apologize to them all afterwards.' _

He gave himself a small, resolute nod as he took his place in the court and waited for the game to continue.

Back outside, Kaylin gave a small huff of satisfaction. She turned to look at Reborn, only to see him frowning up at her with a hard to read expression.

She blinked at him. "What?" She asked in innocence, frowning a little back at the baby.

She could have swore he gave a huff as he turned and marched toward the door.

The baby muttered discontentedly, "That's the second time you stole a good line."

The redhead had to bite her lip _hard_ to stop from laughing.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that was a relatively long chapter, holy crap. 20 plus pages of that shit. Anyways, sorry it took me so long to update. I was having minor writer's block and wound up rewriting half of this chapter twice.**

**TWICE.**

**So this is the product.**

**Also, if you readers would be so kind, I'd like some feedback on the, albeit very small, amount of action in this chapter. I've been notoriously bad with action in the past, so I'd like to know how I'm doing as I write this story. That'd be super helpful. Any other feedback would be absolutely more than welcome and would be recieved with 100% gratefulness on my part. Seriously.**

**Anyhoo, thank you very much for reading. I'm already working on the next chapter and an omake or two, so look forward to that. The next chapter shouldn't take me so long to write because I've basically got the plot worked out... So there's that. Enter Gokudera Story Mode!**

**hahaaaa video game jokes.**

**Ciao ciao!**

**Kei: Get the fuck out of here already.**

**Mutt: What the crap are you even doing here?!**

**Tsuna: I tried to stop her!**

**Kei: *scoffs***

**Tsuna: *looks offended***

**Mutt: SERIOUSLY, WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE RIGHT NOW?!**

**Kei: To irritate you.**

**Mutt &amp; Tsuna: ...**

**Mutt: Well it fucking worked.**

**Tsuna: Let's just end this post already, na? _Na?_**

**Mutt &amp; Kei: *glaaare***

**"Mystery" guy: Stop loitering or I'll bite you all to death.**

**Mutt: WTF?!**

**Kei: NOT AGAIN!**

**Tsuna: Don't leave me here, Kaylin! _Kaylin!_**

**Someone?: Kufufu~**

**Tsuna: _What's even happening right now?!_**

**Mutt: ...This is what I get for staying up all night to finish this stupid chapter. Whatever, I'm leaving. Fucking hell.**

***IMPLOSION***


	6. A Preamble Before Inevitable Explosions

**Kei: Well look at that.**

**Tsuna: *peeks over shoulder at computer screen* Hm?**

**Kei: The story's got a moderately satisfactory amount of follows and favorites.**

***THUNDERING FOOTSTEPS***

**Tsuna: Eh?**

**Kei: Oh god.**

***DOOR SLAMS OPEN***

**Tsuna: **_**HIIIEE!**_

**Mutt: I'M SUCCESSFUL YOU SAY?!**

**Kei: Nobody said that.**

**Mutt: PEOPLE LIKE THE STORY, YOU SAY?!**

**Kei: STOP SHOUTING!**

**Tsuna: Let's just do the disclaimer! Na?!**

**Kei: If you do the brain poop thing again I'll melt your face off.**

**Mutt: *scoffs* **_**Ahem.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, blah blah blah. I only made the OC, blah blah blah. Don't be a dick, it's just fanfiction.**

**Tsuna: *sweatdrop* I-is it okay do do the disclaimer like that...?**

**Mutt: *uberscoffs* I'm American, I don't give a shit about propriety.**

**Kei: We agree for once.**

**Mutt: Oh, hey! Almost forgot a shoutout! Thank you, Choco-Latte64 for your review! You are fantastically awesome for taking the time to give me feedback and I super freakin' appreciate it.**

**Kei: Oh, way to go. _Encourage_ her, why don't you.**

**Tsuna: Okay, on with the story! Moving on! Na?!**

* * *

_Gokudera Hayato watched his target make an ass of himself in some stupid volleyball game. While he had time to kill, he decided it would be better spent observing the brat, seeing for himself the object of his loathing before he confronted him._

_But fucking hell he wasn't sure he could wait much longer._

_He was getting more easily agitated by the day. And it wasn't just recently, either. The past year had been the same old soul-crushing grind without much variation. He would struggle to survive, hopping from one lousy job to the next; he couldn't hold one down, and that made paying his own living expenses hell. He'd buy what he needed when he could, because stealing was a pain in the ass, but he stole from whatever person fit his perception of "useless, no-good-anyways bastard" when he needed to._

_And that just led to even more fights than he would normally get in just by dint of his own compounding temper and agitation. His own mood would darken if it could get much worse. By that point, where there used to be a rabid habit of violence, was now a numb, all encompassing resentment and hate for every human being he could think of - which led to much violence, anyways._

_Even though he was slowly going numb, everything still got more and more aggravating. That's probably why he even bothered to take up the greatest hitman's offer._

_Just the thought of his target incensed him. Some stupid, spoiled brat who had nothing to do with the mafia for all of his life suddenly got to be heir to the largest, strongest, most influential mafia famiglia in the world._

_And it pissed him the fuck off._

_Why should some fucking kid who doesn't know anything get to rise to that kind of position? Be accepted into a family like the Vongola without even trying? When he himself was constantly shunned, rejected, ostracized from every family he tried to find?_

_The puny, powerless families that had all been turned to char and ash and blood by the hand of the "worthless," "weak" "little boy" that they mocked and turned away._

_There was no fucking way in hell that this brat from this stupid town in this stupid country could be worthy of something so great. Gokudera would treat him to the same death that all the others faced. He'd be left in so many cooked pieces that no one will have a chance of identifying the remains._

_But for now, he waited._

* * *

Would you believe our class won the fucking game?

Because you should.

Because Tsuna _totally kicked __**ass!**_

I mean, of _course _I noticed Reborn shoot the kid with the special bullet that augmented Tsuna's legs to be super strong, or some shit, but I knew that the baby wouldn't do that if Tsuna didn't earn that himself.

And dammit all I felt like such a proud mother hen!

Son of a bitch, Sawada Tsuna was moving up in life!

I was bouncing on my toes when I told him as much after school, grinning like an idiot while we walked in the direction of Tsuna's house, which was closer to school than my apartment. I was sure I was weirding him out at least a little, though he seemed to be getting used to my periodic explosions in exuberance. But to my pleasure, Tsuna _did _look a little happy.

At Tsuna's questioning, Reborn explained what he had done to help him.

"It was called the Jump Bullet," he said to his student from his perch on the boy's shoulder. While it seemed he preferred my shoulder to Tsuna's - because I was taller, I imagine - I had apparently been bouncing too much for the infant's liking.

But I couldn't help it, dammit! I was (perhaps unreasonably) happy for Tsuna. By that point after knowing him for nearly two weeks I had caught on to how hopeless the boy seemed to be, by both him and his peers. With Reborn's assistance, though, that seemed to be changing, somewhat.

After Tsuna's match with Mochida a great deal of the student populace seemed to treat him differently. While I couldn't say that they respected him as much as they should just by his virtue of being human, he didn't seem to be the subject of nearly as much teasing as he had been previously. I've even seen him receiving friendly greetings in the hall.

Though I already knew about the Vongola family's special bullet and how it had various different effects, I listened in interest to Reborn's explanation as we continued to walk, in case I had the opportunity to learn more about the family of which I was now a part. I tilted my head at the infant, waiting for him to continue.

"'Dying Will Bullet' is the name of an effect of the Vongola family's special bullet. Depending on where you shoot, the name of the effect changes." This much I knew. "For example, shooting the quadriceps results in the Jump Bullet."

Tsuna turned to me as I added, "There are other effects, too, though I don't know the scope of the effects or how many there are."

Reborn nodded. "There are as many effects as there are body parts."

"You had such an amazing thing up your sleeve?! You only told me about the Dying Will Bullet!" The adolescent exclaimed.

"It seemed like you would come to depend on the bullet, so I didn't mention it." Tsuna blinked at Reborn before the infant continued. "But you didn't depend on the bullet today, Tsuna."

At Reborn's words, Tsuna seemed touched, his eyes almost doey when he looked at his mentor. I imagined him to be thinking something similar to what I was: despite Reborn's outlandish methods, it seems the hitman was actually looking out for him. I smiled at the two.

But that smile quickly turned into something more like a grimace when Reborn next spoke.

"That's not the real reason I shot you, though." I nearly got chills as I noted the baby's smirk. "If I don't keep shooting, I'll get rusty. Now I can shoot as much as I want." Tsuna jerked and balked as Reborn hopped from his shoulder to the wall beside us, the two of us teenagers having stopped walking in astonishment.

I deadpanned as I inwardly wondered why I was even surprised at this point.

Tsuna was in disbelief as he muttered in my direction, "He looks _way_ too happy!"

I blinked at Tsuna, then at the Reborn.

...

I whispered, perhaps not as discreetly as I should have, "...You can tell?"

Tsuna laughed a little tiredly, probably thinking that he wished he didn't have to hang around the baby so much that he _could_ make out whatever subtle differences made up the baby's facial expressions. I grinned a bit in sympathy.

And then my guts decided that _that _would be a good time to yell at me.

* * *

Kaylin's stomach growled so suddenly and loudly that Tsuna nearly jumped. He blinked in near disbelief as the girl flushed, glancing down at her own stomach.

"...Oh." She mumbled, tenderly placing a hand to her abdomen. She saw Tsuna's eyebrow raise in question, so she explained with some reluctance, "I, um... I've only had bread and some milk today...and coffee."

"Eh? That's all you've had?"

Kaylin shuffled her feet and puffed out her cheeks, looking like a child caught in an act of mischief or misbehavior. "I was busy today! And I didn't want to miss your game if I could help it, so I only got a little bit at the school store..." She trailed off in a mumble.

Tsuna slumped as he watched her speak, her eyes always shifting to the sides, never looking at him. _'And she's supposed to be a top class hitman?'_ "You should take care of yourself more, you know," he said aloud to her.

Reborn said in some kind of chastising/amused voice, "You're making your boss worry, Kaylin."

Kaylin nearly started flailing and Tsuna rounded on Reborn.

"I keep telling you, I don't need any subordinates!"

Kaylin faltered and pursed her lips at the younger boy. Feeling somewhat apprehensive, she glanced between him and Reborn, the latter of which took notice of her mild distress. While it wasn't truthfully known whether or not Reborn could really read minds, he did know what she was thinking then: Kaylin was concerned about Tsuna's lack of acceptance.

Reborn calmly shook his head at her and the girl sighed and looked back at Tsuna, who was staring up at the sky in exasperated defeat and hadn't noticed the small exchange.

He'd have to accept it someday, she thought. The sooner the better. People know he's the heir by now - many of those people not being allies of the Vongola. Sooner or later he'll be put in danger and he'll need to be ready.

On the other hand, though... that train of thoughts made her stomach clench and threatened to bring a frown to her face. He didn't ask for this, she knew. He didn't even want this. She scoffed to herself, _he's a _child _for fuck's sake!_ He's only recently learned about his ties to the mafia, of course he's not prepared. He's not even prepared _to be _prepared.

Hell, all this kid wants to do is get passing grades in school. That's all he should even have to worry about; trying to make friends, trying not to suck _too _badly in PE classes, working up the courage to so much as talk to his crush - the freaking mafia shouldn't even be _on_ his radar. But here Reborn was, already working to make Tsuna a suitable boss to the largest damn famiglia on the planet.

The boy's childhood was in jeopardy and he didn't even realize it himself.

Her thoughts then threatened to trespass into the area of her own childhood, short-lived as it was, but -

"Kaylin?"

She jerked and snapped her head up to look at her boss, not having realized she had zoned out and was staring at the asphalt.

"**What? **Er, what?"

His brow was a little furrowed as he repeated what he and Reborn had briefly discussed, "Reborn suggested that you come over to my house to study and have some snacks..." He looked somewhat alarmed when Kaylin furrowed her own brows at his statement, not quite forming a little wrinkle on her forehead. "Er - you don't have to! I didn't think you would want to, but Reborn insisted, s-so - I mean, it's fine if you don't..." He trailed off, waving his hands almost spastically - Reborn had just made him invite a girl over to his house, for crying out loud! It was just Kaylin, but _still!_

His near-frantic train of thought tripped over itself to a halt as Kaylin interrupted it.

"Snacks?" She leaned forward and blinked intensely at him as he leaned back in alarm, as the metallic glint in her eyes was present. "What kind of snacks?"

Tsuna blinked and stumbled for words, "U-um, I don't really know; we might, um, have to look around a little, but mom should be back from her trip to the store soon, so I-I'm sure there'll be something you might... like...?" He wound up trailing off into a question as he took in Kaylin's apparently heightening excitement, the metallic glint in her eyes gone and replaced by a very Nana-like sparkle as she seemed to be fighting an all-out grin. She was actually considering - ?

"That sounds _great!_" Tsuna sweatdropped at her.

Oh. Okay.

* * *

Reborn had to settle for Tsuna's shoulder again since Kaylin's bounciness only increased at that point. However, after about two minutes flat of _that _behavior, she broke a sweat and, though she didn't complain about this particular detail, her chest had started to hurt a little.

Whereas her braid had been bouncing along with her, it now lay rather flaccid against her neck, which did nothing to relieve her of her plight of possible (probably not) heat stroke. She groaned like she was dying as she pulled off her school shirt to avoid sweat stains (shut up) and straightened out her blue tank top.

"Why is Japan so _hot?!_" She nearly wailed.

Tsuna leaned away from her overly-loud voice but chuckled a little (with a sweatdrop) in good nature, looking sympathetic.

"Are you okay?" He asked somewhat hesitantly.

"I'm gonna _die_," she proclaimed to the sky.

He snorted and gave a small laugh, "You won't die! You can have something cool to drink when we get inside, so, er, hang in there until then, okay?"

She only groaned again in response and the two continued to trudge (Tsuna was just walking, Reborn remaining quietly observing - or perhaps thinking? - on his shoulder) their way to Tsuna's house, nearly there already. About five more minutes of walking or so should have them there.

Tsuna sighed silently, but cast his friend a sidelong glance. He blinked at the word he'd used in his head without meaning to - 'friend.' He shifted his gaze forward with a little contemplative frown.

He'd only known Kaylin for - what, two weeks? - did he already consider her a friend? Thinking a little, he supposed he did. After all, friend's visit each other's houses - they study together, eat together, chat...

Actually, he and the redhead beside him hadn't really done much of that. This would be the first time they studied together. She's eaten at his house before, yeah, but that was at his mother's insistance - Kaylin (or Tsuna, for that matter) didn't get much of a choice. Remembering, though, she had laughed like mad afterward, so she seemed happy, at least...

And chatting? Not all that much, come to think of it. There was the the day she ate at his house, the two pep talks (they were simple, but surprisingly effective), a handful of other times around school. They actually just seemed more like acquaintances considering the above points, but...

He tilted his head in thought. But... he doesn't actually feel all that uncomfortable or nervous around her. Of course, sometimes she scared the absolute shit out of him, what with her metallurgic eyes and him being a complete wimp. But outside of that, compared to other kids his age, she was almost easy to talk to. Her being a girl was only a minor distraction, too - she behaved rather boyishly (when she wasn't nearly bouncing out of her skin with excitement).

Which got him to thinking, was she _really _mafia? She really didn't seem like she was lying when she talked about it before, and as insane as the baby was he didn't think Reborn would lie about her, either. In fact, he was the one that realized who she was - after shooting at her, he remembered with a deadpan/sweatdrop combination. Though she was obviously nervous as hell and startled almost out of her mind, she didn't run screaming, either. No matter how he thought about it, that didn't seem like how a _normal _middle-schooler would react to something like that.

_'lf she's really here to join the mafia family Reborn seems to think I should have, she's going to wind up disappointed...'_

So she was a (the more he thought about it, the more he seemed to conclude that she was pretty, though not the same way as Kyoko-chan) pretty girl that he didn't actually know that well who _happened _to also be (apparently heavily) affiliated with the mafia. But - again, though she seriously scared the shit out of him sometimes - he didn't feel threatened by her. In fact, she's stood up for him on a couple of occasions.

Maybe that was why? She must know by now that he was _seriously _no good, yet not once had she legitimately made fun of him. Teased, sure, but teasing and harrassing are definitely different things. And she seems genuine - though nervous and awkward sometimes, genuine. And while her temper flaired often and she was rather impatient, she had shown real kindness and, hell, compassion before.

Normally, he realized, he wouldn't think about _anyone _this hard except for Kyoko-chan, but the thought that he might have actually made his first friend since early elementary school was exciting and scary enough to make him think this much. It was like he was trying to convince himself that she was bad, but he couldn't. He simply didn't seem to believe that she was anything but good.

"Um, Tsuna."

He stopped quickly and spun on his heel, being jerked out of his thoughts and musings.

"Huh?"

She tilted her head at him with a curious frown, and he noticed that Reborn was no longer on his shoulder but had hopped over to Kaylin's at some point.

"Stop spacing out, Baka-Tsuna, we're home," Reborn griped.

Tsuna blinked and looked to the left. Oh. They had indeed reached there destination.

How hard had he been thinking?!

"Maybe the heat's getting to you, too?" She wondered jokingly, fighting a smirk.

"N-no! I was just - " he stopped and sighed dramatically in defeat. Fantastic. "Never mind. Let's just go inside." And he proceeded to skulk off to the front door, Kaylin pattering after him, wondering what the crap just happened, though Reborn had to resist rolling his eyes at his stupid - ahem, student.

* * *

Reborn remained relatively silent while they were studying, playing with Leon now that Kaylin had cooled off. He interjected a few times to point out how stupid Tsuna was - the subject was math, after all, though the subject matter didn't _matter, _so to speak. Tsuna would struggle with it, anyways.

Incidentally, Kaylin took subpar notes - much of them were in English - but Tsuna responded rather well to the way she explained things, hence Reborn's option of passivity. It was a good bonding experience between boss and subordinate, as well.

"Nn, here -" Kaylin mumbled from behind her mouthful of crackers, though she at least put a hand over her lips while she leaned over the table to point, now ponytailed crimson hair swinging over her shoulder, " - yeah. And just divide both sides - there!"

"I got it!" Tsuna all but cheered, beaming down at his work.

"See?" Kaylin grinned, satisfied and _just_ a little smug as she swallowed her food. "It's not _that_ hard."

"I even understand how I solved it!"

Kaylin leaned back on the heels of her hands, watching Tsuna as he seemed to be lost in his own world of happiness for a moment. Nana, who had gotten home just shortly after Kaylin and her son did, popped her head around the doorframe, instantly brightening the room a few watts. She had been surprised, but very _clearly_ ecstatic to see Kaylin visiting again and even lightly chastised her about not stopping by sooner when she first spotted the girl.

"Ara, Kei-chan! It's so nice to see you again! Why haven't you been coming over more often? I told you you're more than welcome here! Ooh, are you studying? How helpful! I'm so glad to see Tsuna made such a helpful friend!" she had more or less cheered at the time.

And Nana continued gushing for a few minutes before Tsuna shooed her away so they could keep studying, a little embarrassed about his mother making his (he decided that he did consider Kaylin as such) friend so flustered. Kaylin only smiled nervously, a slight shy flush on her cheeks and assured Tsuna that it was okay.

Now, Nana was peeking curiously into the living room and inquired, "How's the studying coming?"

Reborn spoke up before Tsuna could answer, "Studying seems to be rather effective today."

Nana beamed, "Ara, is that so, Tsu-kun?"

Tsuna turned to answer his mother with a small smile, "Ah, nn. Kaylin's really good at explaining math." He didn't mention how her notes made his head swim, though.

"Maa, how reliable, Kei-chan!" Nana's smile brightened even more as she clapped her hands together.

Kaylin jerked in surprise at the compliment, blushing so fast that a steam puff nearly poofed into life around her head. She tried to say something in return, maybe a 'thank you,' but she only managed some bumbling sounds. Tsuna sweatdropped at her, laughing quietly at her apparent inability to process compliments - it might have been cute if it weren't so funny.

"I'm making snacks for you now, so keep up the good work, you two~!" And with that she skipped back into the kitchen, humming a tuneless melody.

"You're actually very shy, aren't you, Kaylin?" Reborn teased, clearly amused.

The girl blinked out of her daze and rounded on the baby with a now indignant flush. "Leave me alone!" At that Tsuna genuinely laughed as Kaylin crossed her arms and pouted with a huff, giving the wall a half-hearted glare. She mumbled, "It's not my fault! I'm a Mafioso, not a socialite!"

Hina looked up from the cracker she had been munching on (they managed to convince Nana that she was a hamster) with an amused set to her ears and made a sound something like a snicker. Kaylin looked aghast at her companion and cried, "Traitor!"

_"Oh, Kaylin - don't be mad. It's endearing, really."_

Kaylin huffed once more, but didn't deign Hina with a response, instead shuffling superficially through her school papers. She was still struggling with a pout when she insisted, "Whatever. Let's just keep studying until Maman gets done with the snacks."

Tsuna furrowed his brow at her, though. "'Maman?'"

Kaylin blinked until she realized what she had said. "Oh!" She gave a laugh. "Reborn called her that, and I guess I started calling her that in my head, so it just kind, you know, slipped..." She pulled on her ponytail in a nervous gesture.

Tsuna sweatdropped. His tutors weird habits were rubbing off on other people...

* * *

We finished up with the math, Tsuna doing relatively satisfactory with his work, according to Reborn, so we moved on to another subject for a while. We would have picked Japanese History if both Tsuna and I weren't horrid with it and if we weren't both terrified of Reborn's tutoring methods, but we settled for English, which I was surprisingly bad at explaining; when something's second nature to you, you don't think about it, you just do it! It's like trying to explain to a person how to breath - you just do it, dammit.

When Nana had finished with the snacks we were ready to take a little break, during which Nana wound up insisting that I stay for supper again, even going so far as to make me decide on a dish, telling me to pick one of my favorites - I picked mashed potatoes because duh. That woman made remarkable mashed potatoes.

I tried to focus during supper, but I kept zoning out - nerves about tomorrow were beginning to accumulate, resulting in me constantly tapping my foot, though I managed to muffle it by tapping on my _other _sock-clad foot.

Why the hell had I been so absent-minded today? I forgot to even Assess this freakin' Gokudera kid. I'd have to settle with doing that tomorrow at school. It's not like the kid would be stupid enough to actually do something _in _school...

Right?

...

Surely he wouldn't.

* * *

Reborn sat on Kaylin's shoulder as the girl made her way to her apartment for the evening. It was clear to him that she had been lost in thought throughout supper, and he surmised that it had to do with tomorrow. Reborn, of course, had plans that he intended for tomorrow to adhere to, and while he had recently done extensive research on her, he didn't know just what Kaylin's actions would be. It didn't seem that she would do anything rash or hasty, but just to be safe...

"I'd like you to not interfere with tomorrow's proceedings," he stated. He got the feeling that this girl was remarkably stubborn, so he felt that the best approach to this would simply be to level with her. If she understood the situation she'd be much more compliant with his requests.

Kaylin glanced at the baby on her shoulder out of the corner of her eye, brows furrowing at him. She looked away, chewing on the inside of her cheek without saying anything.

Reborn continued, "In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't go to school tomorrow alltogether."

Kaylin promptly stopped walking and jerked her head to face Reborn, who promptly hopped off of her shoulder and onto a wall lining the street. They were now roughly eye-level. Kaylin squinted a little against the orange glow of the setting sun, trying not to make it seem like she was glaring at the hitman.

From the abruptly worried set to the girl's brow and her stiff shoulders, Reborn could see that he was right in his thoughts that Kaylin was worried about Tsuna.

"But I only need to stay out of the fight, right?"

"That's true. But I don't want Tsuna relying on you for support throughout the day, which is inevitably what he'll do if you're there. And do you really think you could bring yourself not to give him that support when he asks for it?"

Kaylin's eyes widened and she opened her mouth, prepared to say something when she realized that he was right. Her teeth clacked shut as she just looked at Reborn - hard - searching for some kind of read on his thoughts, though she sensed that he wasn't hiding anything. Kaylin looked away and wrung her hands, biting her cheek again.

"Also, I'd rather you and Gokudera not end up fighting. It would only complicate things."

"I wouldn't - !"

"If _he_ picks a fight, would you not defend yourself?" He interrupted. Once again Kaylin's jaw snapped shut. "I assume you've done a fair amount of research on Gokudera."

Kaylin grimaced as she recalled what she learned, seeing the baby's point.

"I more or less read his life story. He does seem...the confrontational type."

Reborn nodded his head, "He definitely is."

Kaylin's brow furrowed further. "But that's why I'm worried."

The small hitman resisted the eye roll that he felt coming on. "I told you this morning: you don't need to worry about Tsuna. He's definitely useless as he is now, no doubt -" Kaylin winced a bit at that "- but he's Vongola. It's in his blood."

At those words Kaylin raised an eyebrow at the baby, suddenly fighting a smirk. Reborn frowned at her and quickly threw in, "Don't tell him I said that. I'd hate for him to think I'm a nice guy."

Kaylin bit her lip, but nodded, definitely no wanting to incite the hitman's anger. So she sighed and stared up at the sky for a moment, running a hand through her loose fringe.

She finally relented, though she remained frowning. "Yeah, okay. I understand. I'll just...study or something." She lifted her hands then let them drop in a gesture of resignation.

After they came to somewhat of an understanding the two Mafioso parted ways. Reborn made his way to an area of a nearby wall that the infant had converted into a part of his extensive network of tunnels and hideouts throughout Namimori.

If he was being honest, he didn't actually think that Kaylin would follow through with staying away from her boss like he asked, even though she outwardly agreed. He didn't think she was lying, no - he did think, however, that she would drive herself crazy with worry and would end up coming to school anyways.

That said... He'll have to find a way to keep her away for as long as needed.

His thoughts remained on his student's subordinate as he watched the last of the sunset light disappeared behind the closing of his hideout door, the whir of an airlock buzzing in his ears.

He had briefly spoken with the Ninth about Kaylin Steele, formerly known as "Demon." One wouldn't guess she had such a reputation upon meeting her. The Ninth, of course, trusted Reborn not to let any danger come to Tsuna through Kaylin. The small hitman would have kept an eye on the girl even if the Ninth hasn't asked him to, though.

While Reborn would admit that Kaylin didn't cause any of his instincts to flare, that in itself caused him to be on alert.

Considering Kaylin`s history and track record as mafia, the girl was too...normal. Too overtly well-adjusted. The girl _lived_ in the underground world of the mafia. _Something_ had to be wrong with her. But nothing was glaringly obvious. This only made him wonder at her mental state.

It could be plausible that she's compartmentalized her past experiences, including her time spent kidnapped by Vita Ricerca. Perhaps she simply takes on a different mindset when she deems it necessary, to further protect her mental and emotional health.

Something he had come across in his research seemed to reinforce his theory: something was rather cleanly erased from her history. Not completely, no - but the job was remarkably well-done.

Some time when she was around seven or eight years old, her mother stopped showing up in any form of records. A chunk of her life seemed to have disappeared at that time. Shortly after data resumed recording Kaylin began taking on jobs and missions by herself. Even at that age she did exceptionally well; though of course there was a rough start as she learned the ropes, she showed adaptability and combat prowess quickly.

Reborn had brought this lapse of information up with the Ninth, who agreed that it was peculiar. Because that kind of expungement of information about Kaylin only happened once, he wasn't immediately worried. This view was compounded by Kaylin's penchant for choosing jobs that were at the very least not _too _morally corupt. However he ordered Reborn to observe her and to never leave her alone with Tsuna until her loyalty was apparent and proven.

Reborn knew people. And so far, she seemed loyal. Oddly loyal, even - though she said that she wanted a fresh start which could prompt her good behavior. Tsuna and his inherent intuition seemed to trust her, as well. Though Reborn knew Tsuna had far to go, he also knew better than to scoff at the intuition of the Vongola. It was something to be trusted.

But since Tsuna didn't know to be cautious, yet, Reborn would have to be.

Not that Reborn's conclusion of Kaylin was of any immediate consequence. No matter what he felt about the girl he would continue to watch her, as per the Ninth's orders. Speaking of which, he was due to report to the Ninth about both Kaylin and Gokudera tomorrow night, after Gokudera inevitably joined Tsuna's family.

Tonight, however, may potentially be a late one - he had planning to do and people (Kaylin) to sabatoge if he wanted to ensure tomorrow goes as planned.

The infant sighed.

He knew better, of course, but it felt like his new student and his friends were more trouble than they were worth.

Brats.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Okay, so this one might be a little boring. It's full of character exposition and junk, but I feel like it was needed, setting up the story and whatnot. I generally don't intend for many of my chapters to be so... filler-ish, you know?**

**BUT. The problem with this (and half of last) chapter is that I felt it was dragging on and I was fighting writer's block, so... Setting up characters and character relationships is HARD. God forbid I actually have to get CREATIVE.**

**That said, though, I'm hoping/thinking that writing will get a little easier when I have more characters to work with.**

**Thing is, I've got some plot running around in my head and not just mindless writing. THE PROBLEM is getting to that point (namely the Kokuyo arc and junk).**

**Okay, so. To wrap this up, any tips would be supertastically appreciated! I'd absolutely love to hear from readers and get feedback to help with my writing. That way I can give you all a better story and be encouraged to keep writing and stuff!**

**Creativity! Whoo!**


	7. The Inevitable Explosions

**Reborn: Ciaossu. I'm here for the disclaimer today.**

**Tsuna: Wait, what? Where's Kaylin?**

**Reborn: Kaylin is currently indisposed and can't make it, so I've taken her place for now.**

**Mutt: Welcome! It's great to finally have you here!**

**Reborn: *politely inclines head***

**Tsuna: Wait, wait, Reborn, why do I get the feeling that you have something to do with Kaylin not being here?**

**Reborn: I don't know what you're talking about.**

**Tsuna: Why don't I think I should believe you?!**

**Mutt: Maa, maa, Tsuna, Kei's fine.**

**Tsuna: How do you know? And why are you using Japanese mannerisms?!**

**Mutt: I'm the author, I know these things. And I'm dangerously close to touching upon weaboo territory, so maybe I should stop that.**

**Tsuna: What's a... whatever you just said?**

**Mutt: *claps hands* **_**Okay,**_** let's not completely tear down the fourth wall today and move on to the disclaimer! Reborn, since you're here, would you do the honors?**

**Reborn: Sure. -**

**\- Disclaimer: The author does not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and makes no money from this fanfiction; this story is just for fun. She does, however, claim rights to Kaylin's existence.**

**Mutt: Don't let her know that you said that, though. She'll get mad at me.**

**Tsuna: I've got a bad feeling for some reason...**

* * *

I waited. And I waited.

And _waited._

And just to mix things up a little in the monotony of the morning, I wait _just a little more._

I tried to sleep in, I _really did,_ but as soon as I woke up at around 10:00 - _as soon _as my thinking reached a level resembling coherency - whatever part of my brain that handled anxiety thought that it was necessary to kick me in the stomach with thoughts of Tsuna ending up in lots of smoky, charred bits via dynamite.

So by 1:00 in the afternoon I had _somehow _found myself wiggling into the school slacks and buttoning my shirt up over my (incidentally, dark blue, today) customary tank top and slipping into my tennis shoes. I had already stuffed Hina into my school bag and slung said bag over my shoulder, ignoring her muffled protests.

No, silly, I wasn't preparing to go to school. That'd go against what Reborn asked of me. No, I was dressing this way just in case.

Just in case, you know...

Something...happens.

...You know?

Ahem.

I continued to convince myself that I was totally not going to school even if I happened to begin walking in that direction upon leaving my apartment out of habit as I turned the door handle, which detached from the door upon me pulling it. Of course, if I did happen to wind up at school somehow -

...

Wait, what?

I looked down to my outstretched hand, which was oddly far away from the door considering I was holding onto the doorknob. For a good ten seconds I didn't comprehend what just happened.

...Wait, _what?!_

I knew my apartment was obscenely shitty, but the doorknob was firmly attached the damn door just last night! If it were rickety, I'd have noticed! And yet here I was, door handle in hand, with a closed door still in front of me.

My intuition started to scratch at the back of my mind, but I was a little too frazzled to think of anything much more than "what the _fuck._"

Coming to my senses (mostly) I bemusedly poked at what was left of the handle, which was its...dock, I supposed. My mind wondered through what could have possibly happened until a more pressing matter leapt to the forefront of my mind:

How was I supposed to get out of my house?

...

...

Well, fuck.

I through my head back and let out a long-suffering groan at the ceiling. I then let muscle memory guide my movements as I swiftly pivoted on one foot and spun to deliver a kick to the door, just by the handle (rather, where it should be). I only remembered that the door opened inward when the entire thing was wrenched from its place and fell against the outside railing. I stared at the door wide-eyed with my foot lingering in the air.

...

...

An impressive amount of English, Italian, and Japanese obscenities (somehow mixing grammars) later, I stomped over to the door and lifted it with fair ease to lean it against the wall beside my door. At least it wasn't cold outside or something.

I leaned forward and scrutinized the other side of the doorknob. I cautiously reached up to grab the handle and gave it a gentle turn. That one promptly detached, too. Looking more closely I noticed a few screws missing from the dock.

...That doesn't generally happen by natural causes.

By this point my intuition was solidly poking my brain, but it wouldn't take any kind of intuitive leap to come to a logical conclusion:

...Someone messed with my door?

...What the _fuck?_

My mouth and brow were set in a definite frown. My mind was sorting through possible suspects, though in retrospect it was pretty obvious,

Who the fuck would have messed with my door? _Why_ the fuck would someone mess with my door?!

I pulled out my cell and dialled the landlord, getting the answering machine. I left a very surly-toned message (not like the damn door breaking was _my _fault, and I wouldn't let him accuse me of it or something) telling him to _please _fix the door, then snapped the phone shut, still scowling.

I stomped down the stairs, grumbling the entire time. Without any thought at all I instinctively went on alert, though I rationally thought that a prank like that was a little too benign to warrant much caution at all - and it was.

I rounded the corner to the street I knew was the most direct route to school that I could take from my apartment. I only took two steps in that direction when what I saw made me blink several times before I processed the absurdity.

There was a _concrete fucking wall _in the middle of the street. Yellow paint designed to advise caution decorated the top and bottom of the wall and a sign was set up in front of it.

It read "detour."

...

Uh. Okay.

I honestly didn't immediately think much of it at first, though my intuition was tickling again. I turned back onto the street I had been walking on previously and made my way to the next perpendicular street.

Upon turning the corner I met with another wall and another "detour" sign.

...

My eyes narrowed in a deadpan stare of disbelief, scowl firmly in place once more. I continued on down the road that I needed to get _off _of, glaring at the wall like it might move if I watched close enough until it was out of sight. I turned onto the next road.

...

Detour.

I felt a twitch in my cheek.

**"What the **_**fuck?!" **_What the hell was going on that morning?!

Deciding that I was _not_ going to take another damn detour, I stomped over to the nearest wall that surrounded every residential area and clamored up to the top. Looking past the wall that _shouldn't _be there, I saw...

...Nothing out of the ordinary.

More specifically, no construction work, anything in need of repair...nothing.

...

What.

I couldn't even say anything snarky.

Why the fuck were there concrete _walls _erected in the street when there was _literally nothing going on there?!_

I felt another twitch in my cheek, this one more apparent.

I looked up to the sky and prayed to the gods of the land that I be granted more patience and wisdom than I possess.

My mind and intuition went to a certain infant, but I shooed away the thoughts because that would be absolutely ridiculous, even for him.

Absolutely fucking ridiculous.

Definitely.

I walked forward on the wall that _was supposed to be there _until the wall that _wasn't supposed to be there _was behind me and hopped down, landing easily on the balls of my feet.

And was promptly shot.

...

By a stream of water.

I gasped in surprise and jumped away from where the offending liquid projectile came from. Though I looked around like mad, I couldn't find a source.

I looked down at my shirt.

Good thing I wear tank tops underneath my school shirts by default...

My mind once again went straight to that baby, but _no way _would he do this and _no fucking way _was I in denial because I didn't want to believe that such a person was mentoring my boss. No way.

Balling my fists _not _out of anger towards said infant but at the soaking state of my hair and clothes I marched forward. I would _not _be beaten by these stupid -

_Splash_

...

...

_Twitch_.

* * *

I had ran, jumped, ducked, rolled, and kicked my way away from a stamped of various species of zoo animals, over more walls, under conveniently located movers carrying a couch, out of the way of a speeding cyclist, and through a mob of dress suit and sunglasses-clad businessmen (read: Mafioso. What the fuck are they doing here?) by the time I heard the first explosion (all of that shit took around two hours; that stampede was absolutely insane).

_**BOOM.**_

I skidded to a halt, chest heaving and hurting just a tad.

By that point I was relatively near the school, and the sound was surprisingly startling. Whereas you can feel the sound of large fireworks on, say, the New Year, the explosion of what was without a doubt dynamite was _messier_ sounding and shook the ground as well as the air.

_**BOOM-BOOM.**_

I was shocked out of my musings by the second and third explosions.

That...was definitely coming from the direction of the school.

Without thinking of the consequences of an all-out sprint I tore down the street full tilt.

_That fucking insane piece of absolute shit what the fuckishethinking?!_

Several more explosions rang and resounded throughout the vicinity from the school and prompted me to keep the pace that was probably not good for my health. In my escapades around Namimori I wound up at a side of the school without the gate, so in my hurry I decided to jump the wall, which was perhaps two meters high give or take.

Using the momentum from the sprint I leapt as high as I could, planting my right foot against the wall and kicking off for a boost. I grabbed the ledge and continued the motion by pulling myself up. I had enough of a boost that I flopped onto the edge, hooking my arms around the corner under my armpits. I was about to scramble up and over until I heard yelling directly to my left.

My jaw dropped along with my stomach at the sight of _literally dozens _of lit explosives littering the ground around the feet Gokudera Hayoto and boxer-clad Tsuna who was _running around and extinguishing said explosives._

I gasped and flipped myself over the wall, landing right on my ass in my panic. I didn't pay that any mind, though, as I began to run over to where the two were apparently duking it out before I _tripped _by -

**"What the fuck, Reborn?!"**

"Ciaossu."

With no time for his _shit _I hurried to my feet, only to see Tsuna extinguishing the remaining sticks of dynamite by Gokudera's feet. Said _maniac _stumbled back onto his rear in surprise and shock, looking -

Oh.

As Tsuna fell back, apparently fainting, I planted my butt onto my feet, coming to a rest on my knees on the ground several meters away from the action, just now noting that I was short of breath in the back of my mind.

As I watched Gokudera's face and his astoundingly wide range of emotions shown there for all the world to see before he quickly bowed his head, not moving the rest of his body, memories of what I read about him invaded my mind.

And...I think I understood what just happened.

* * *

_He had been fully prepared to kill him._

_To kill him violently with smoke and gunpowder and explosions. To turn him into bone and char and ash._

_But he was surprisingly strong, fast. Gokudera was initially just frustrated, but when he saw that no matter how many bombs he threw at Sawada Tsunayoshi, none managed to so much as explode, let alone harm him._

_He grew more and more agitated, furious that this _brat _was besting him, and his judgement clouded. He resorted to a technique that he hadn't finished yet, and he payed for it._

_A few lit bombs fell from his grasp, and the rest followed._

_He was dead._

_In an instant, tuning out the yelling of his target, he just stared at the dynamite scattered at his feet, fuses seeming to shrink in slow motion. His consciousness was thrust back to his past._

_His oblivious, naive contentedness; his sudden, glaring pain and confusion; his feelings of abandonment and betrayal and rejection; his anger and spite and resentment; his bombs, the explosions, the gore, the absence of satisfaction; his frustration at anything and everything, at the world, his struggle just to survive, his anger and spite and resentment and hopelessness and pain and sadness and fear and loneliness_

_and __**loneliness**_

_**lonely**_

_and worthlessness._

_Worthless._

_All amalgamating at this one point in time, meeting back for one last rendezvous just to spite him before his life was blown apart like those he had blown apart himself._

_Ending just as worthless as he became when the only person that ever thought he mattered died before he even knew to care._

_The End._

_In an instant he accepted his death._

_But just as he did something different came into his view and the little sparks signaling his imminent death went out one by one, at an astounding rate. He blinked as he realized that_

_his target,_

_who he tried to kill,_

_was...saving him?_

_As more and more fuses were extinguished Gokudera fell backwards, watching the boy before him with wide eyes, unable to move or say anything in this moment of his intense emotions._

_The last spark went out just as a spark was lit._

_The boy before him fell backwards, apparently unconscious._

_For a moment Gokudera didn't move. So many emotions were tearing through him that his body seemed to go numb._

_He somehow got enough bearing to hide his face with his hair, balling his fists at his sides, trying to stifle the trembling in his fingers and arms._

_What...just happened?_

_He was -_

_The world was about to finally be rid of his worthless self, and yet -_

_This boy in front of him - this boy that he didn't know - this boy that he tried to kill - this boy that he had bad-mouthed and antagonized and given absolutely no reason to be kind to him let alone save his life -_

_He had done just that._

_In years - long, long years - no one had so much as spared him a glance filled with worry for _his _safety, for his wellbeing. Those he encountered all wanted him dead. All thought him a waste of space, of air, of breath. All considered him a worthless, laughable burden. His life meant nothing._

_But the boy sprawled out on the ground before him..._

_He was...different?_

_He had saved the life of a stranger that just tried to kill him when he had no obligation or reason to do so._

_Because of this stranger, this Sawada Tsunayoshi..._

_Gokudera Hayato could maybe...keep living._

* * *

I watched everything.

Any anger or sense of urgency I initially had had by now evaporated and been replaced with sympathy. I couldn't say that I knew what he was thinking or that I understood his feelings or what he was going through right now, but I could just _feel _the plethora of emotions churning around inside of him, just beneath the surface. I could tell by his clenched fists that he was trying to keep it from breaking through.

I could see his shoulders trembling, and my heart ached for him.

Both Reborn and I were silent and still, letting what was happening play out, though I desperately wanted to do _something_. But this was definitely not something that I should interfere with. But, though I felt the need to act I was also afraid to so much as move for fear of disturbing whatever it was the silverette was going through.

It was then that Tsuna himself moved, and Gokudera's head immediately snapped up to stare at him with wide eyes. As Tsuna slowly sat up I made to move, but Reborn grabbed a hold of my pant leg and held me back and I bit my lip in impatience.

Tsuna put a hand to his head but jerked backwards in surprise when Gokudera suddenly flipped over on his hands and knees, apparently coming to a decision, entire demeaner changing in an instant.

"I was mistaken!"

Tsuna blinked, and I blinked, and I could just _feel _Reborn smirk.

"You're fit to be the Tenth!" My jaw dropped and Tsuna balked.

"Eh?!"

"I'll follow Saw - no, the Tenth anywhere! I'm at your service!" He bowed, his forehead to the ground.

...What.

_Now _Reborn chose to speak up, though no one seemed to take note of me, sitting right next to him. "For the loser of a fight to become the subordinate of the winner is a family rule."

Another "Eh?!"

Gokudera didn't completely lift his head as he spoke. "Actually, I never wanted to become the Tenth. After I heard that the heir to the Vongola is a Japanese kid my own age, I felt like I had to test his strength." Tsuna blinked again, apparently speechless.

Gokudera looked up now, beaming (what), making Tsuna jerk with surprise again. "But you're so much more than I expected! Putting your life on the line to save someone like me...I'll place my life in your hands!" My jaw dropped a little further and Tsuna flipped.

"Your life?! Don't do that, it's troubling! J-just normal c-classmates will do, right?!"

Instantaneously Gokudera's look went from elated and admiring to stern and quite frightening (to Tsuna), frosted green eyes becoming sharp. "Absolutely not."

At that Tsuna froze completely in a deadpan, too scared to move. Or to argue.

At that time I gave an inelegant snort, then started full-out laughing. I assume Tsuna jerked his head in my direction and Gokudera just turned and scowled, but I could't see because I was laughing so hard.

"Kaylin?!"

...He really did just now notice me?

I was too busy laughing at him (in good humor, of course) to care much, though.

"I thought you didn't come to school again, today! And why are your clothes all dirty?"

I stopped laughing and blinked, then glanced down at my clothes.

...

**"Son of a - !"**

"Gokudera became your subordinate because of your own strength. Good job, Tsuna." Reborn had moved over to Tsuna and Gokudera, leaving me blinking at having been interrupted, still several meters away from everyone.

_This is his fault, though! The little __**shit!**_

Tsuna seemed to spaz a little, "What are you talking about?!"

My eye twitched again at this entire situation.

It was then that I remembered that Tsuna had just extinguished a shit load of dynamite with his bare hands.

Shit.

"Hey, Tsuna - are your hands okay?" I pushed off of the ground, using how I was sitting to gain instant speed and jogged over to my boss, ignoring my very likely bruised ass.

Tsuna jumped and blinked at me in confusion before realizing and looking down at his hands. "Oh, um...I've just got little burns here and there..." He trailed off, but waved his hands about trying to reassure me upon seeing my worried frown. "It's fine, they don't hurt that bad!"

I pursed my lips at him, looking stern. The boy only sweatdropped, reassuring smile turning into something of a grimace.

"Don't coddle him," Reborn reprimanded. I puffed out my cheeks and "hmph"d, crossing my arms in defiance.

"Somebody has to, considering you seem to be intent on getting him mauled or maimed or some other spectacular method of death. Like, oh, _explosion._" I pointedly shot a glare at Gokudera, who bristled, while Tsuna "hiiee"d in alarm.

"K-Kaylin, it's over now, so let's just forget about it...!" He trailed off as he desperately looked back and forth between Gokudera and me, in the middle of our glaring contest/stand-off.

Since I was too busy being a ditz yesterday to Assess the _new kid _I took the opportunity now to do so.

_Assess_

_Age, approximately 13 years. Height, 168 cm. Weight, 54 kg. While bone structure is rather slight, muscle mass is somewhat considerable, making up for any lack in durability. Posture and facial expressions indicate alertness, as do observable physiological phenomena. Emotional state seems to be somewhat volatile, caution may be taken to avoid potential altercations. Smell indicates smoking habit, though lungs seem to be high functioning, not much suffering as a result. _

_Potential threat: moderate_

_Immediate threat: minimal_

_Identity: Gokudera Hayato, alias "Hurricane Bomb Hayato," "Smokin' Bomb Hayato"_

I was finished in three seconds.

Gokudera looked like he was about to throw a tantrum. Before he could, however, our little family apparently caught the attention of some classmates.

"Oh, no~ these guys are skipping class!" A smarmy voice called.

This time both Gokudera and I bristled as we snapped our heads in their direction.

"You're only allowed to skip starting third year! This deserves punishment."

"How many teeth do you want to lose?"

My eyes narrowed dangerously, a metallic glint undoubtedly flashing at them. The idiots were apparently too dense to take the hint, though.

Tsuna flipped again and I noticed Gokudera move off to my left, though I kept my eyes on the assholes coming closer to us.

"Allow me, Tenth," the silverette growled as he stepped forward. "I'll take care of them."

I blinked and finally looked at him as he started to light sticks of dynamite with the cigarette that somehow manifested between his teeth.

Wait, wha - ?!

"W-wait! Gokudera-kun, don't use dynamite!"

By then it was a little too late to stop the explosions, though.

Honestly, I was kinda bummed about not getting a chance to kick any upperclassmen ass. Not like it could be helped, though - I had seriously drained my stamina running around town like I was being chased by maniacs.

Oh, yeah. **I WAS. **In fact, I was still struggling to catch my breath.

Tsuna was flipping out but didn't dare get closer to the massacre (minus death) that Gokudera was unleashing on the assholes, whereas I was passively trying to brush dirt off of my clothes, shooting Reborn seething glares here and there.

All was well (considering), until I was surprised by a wave of fatigue. I blinked in mild concern before a yawn made its way out of my mouth. The mild concern turned into something close to alarm as small cough escaped my throat. Another one followed soon after and to my (definitely, now) alarm I thought I tasted something like copper.

I quickly looked around at Tsuna. I felt relieved when he didn't notice my small episode. I stiffened, though, when I glanced down to see Reborn watching me closely. He had definitely noticed that. He frowned and I looked away with another light cough, covering my mouth. I avoided meeting his eyes, wondering what he would be thinking.

I swallowed and focused on controlling my breathing, eyeing Tsuna to make sure I had a chance to act natural should he turn to look at me. I took slow, shallow breaths to avoid straining my lungs any more than I already had that day. I probably shouldn't have sprinted as much as I had... Not only was I _not _in the best shape of my life, but I also had the handicap of this _sickness._ A handicap that I still didn't know how to cope with...

I put a gentle hand to my chest, trying to discreetly survey for any damage. There was a bit of an itch around my lungs every time I breathed, like there was a pain that was barely there. I wasn't entirely sure what asthma felt like, but intuition told me that it must have been similar to this. My body tried to make me yawn again, but I bit it back, knowing that I may have a fit again if I did.

I wanted to look down at Reborn to try to assess what he was thinking, but I just crossed my arms over my chest and took an impatient stance, pretending like nothing was wrong. Although I knew, without any doubt, that I would be hearing about this later...

* * *

Reborn frowned at the redhead. She looked mildly pained and like she was trying to suppress a coughing fit. There was also an alarmed look in her eyes. She quickly suppressed it, though, when she noticed him observing her, and this only made his frown deepen. While it wasn't in his nature to be overly concerned with others, this was a family member of the future boss of the Vongola, and he _did _care about his famiglia.

He'd already been lenient with her as it is.

Gokudera made short work of the upperclassmen, and while Kaylin wasn't impressed, she was satisfied with his work, at the very least. Her fit more or less over, a smirk rested on her lips and she was decidedly ignoring what just happened to her. Reborn noticed and decided not to point it out. She would not respond well if he did, at least not right now.

"Serves 'em right. **Assholes.**"

"I'll tear apart anyone who bothers the Tenth," the human bomb said, dusting imaginary dirt off of his looked like he was almost ready to weep, clutching his head in his hands.

_'Why me? What have I done to deserve this?! I don't know how to handle these people!'_

* * *

**Extra (a gift because of the short chapter and tardiness and because I do what I want, so fuck off) :**

**"Friends," Coffee, and a Place to Stay**

The trio plus baby made their way down the street after the infant suggested a family supper as a celebration for the new family member, one person stomping, one trudging along, another nearly skipping, and the infant seated on his student's head.

"_Why _is _she _coming?!"

"_Why _do _you _have a problem with it?!"

"_I _don't _like _you."

"_Why _the hell _not?!_"

"You're acting too close to the Tenth!"

"I'm what?!"

Well, she _was _skipping.

Tsuna was walking with his shoulders tensed up to his ears, not wanting to intervene in the verbal scuffle between his two scary friends.

"You heard me!"

"I act like a _subordinate_, you -"

"I keep saying, I don't have subordinates and I'm not your boss! We're _friends!_" Tsuna snapped (mentally), holding his fuzzy head in his hands for the umpteenth time that day. Then he almost had a heart attack when Gokudera's gaze shifted to him, the "back the fuck off" look having not quite dissipated.

Whereas Gokudera gave a "keh," but caught Tsuna's distress at their bickering and stood down, Kaylin stopped in her tracks as a puff of steam erupted into existence around her ears. No one else seemed to notice, as she lagged behind for a moment. Except for Reborn, of course, who gave a knowing smirk, but quickly hid it.

It seems that it didn't occur to her that Tsuna considered their relationship one of "friendship."

* * *

"I'm home!" Tsuna calls into his house while stepping out of his shoes, knowing his mom should be doing whatever housewives do throughout the day in the kitchen.

Gokudera was stiff with nervousness at being inside his boss's home for the first time and his general irritation with Kaylin is forgotten for the moment. "E-excuse the intrusion!" He says with stiff formality. Just after he'd caused so much trouble for the Tenth, he was invited into his home... The thought made his chest well up with gratitude.

Kaylin, coming from America, nearly forgot. "I'm home!" She blinked and would have realized that she said the wrong thing even without the funny look from Tsuna. She flushed and gave a sheepish grin, pulling on her braid as a nervous habit. "Sorry," she chuckled.

Nana moved to the door frame and stuck her head out curiously. "Welcome home, Tsu-kun - _Ara! _Kei-chan stopped by again! Ara? Who's this, Tsu-kun? Another friend?" Excitement and sparkles radiating from her, she skipped over to stand in front of her son and his guests, spatula in hand and beaming smile on her face.

Gokudera stiffens even more, a flustered flush on his face, much to Kaylin's amusement, who smirked and raised an eyebrow at him, very much enjoying his discomfort. Tsuna sweatdropped at the look on her face, feeling somewhat sorry for his new friend.

The silverette almost fumbled in introducing himself, so unaccustomed to smiles like that directed at someone like him. He bowed low at the waist and proceeded, "I'm Gokudera Hayato! Very pleased to make your acquaintance!"

Nana blinked at him, but continued smiling and Kaylin had to stifle a snort, forgetting how she would have been just as nervous as he was upon first meeting Nana if she hadn't been so flustered and frazzled herself. Tsuna, however, remembered and gave another sweatdrop, but didn't bother to say anything.

The woman waved her hand at Gokudera with a laugh, urging him to straighten. "Maa, Gokudera-kun, there's no need to be so formal! And welcome to my home! I'm so glad Tsu-kun's been making so many friends, lately! Will you two be staying for supper?" The eager look on her face and the sparkles still radiating from her would have made them unable to decline anyway, but Reborn spoke up first.

"I invited them for a celebratory meal. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not! Now I have an excuse to cook a lot," she giggled. "Please, you two, make yourselves at home. And Tsu-kun, you be a good host, you hear me?" The stern look on her face was nearly overshadowed by the sparkles that were _still _dancing around her, but Tsuna got the idea.

Before her son could even answer she pranced off into the kitchen, undoubtedly to begin supper.

* * *

Thankfully, Reborn had begun forcing Tsuna to clean his room upon his arrival into the Sawada household, so it was clean enough for company that afternoon. So, that's where they settled down to wait for supper.

Gokudera was sitting stiff with formality to Tsuna's right hand (ha ha), but was slowly easing into the lax atmosphere of Tsuna's room. He was doing his best to ignore his irritation at being in close quarters with the redhead he'd come to dislike rather quickly.

Kaylin was looking around curiously, having sat across from Tsuna and the door(she didn't like having her back to doors). It was clean enough and looked like she'd always imagined a boys room would be, if a little more minimalist than her expectations.

After having started his coffee, Reborn got to business. "Since we're all here, study."

Various reactions ensued: Tsuna threw his head back and groaned, but knew he couldn't get out of it since it was Reborn; Gokudera sat up immediately straighter - this was something he could definitely help the Tenth with - he'd definitely make up for his mistake and show his gratitude to the Tenth; Kaylin groaned but for a different reason - she had missed two days of school, and would have to learn everything as opposed to just study it. It wouldn't be hard, of course, but it would be a pain in the ass.

At that moment Kaylin jumped, earning the questioning glances of her friend plus Gokudera (he had to earn that title). She fumbled a bit with pulling her school bag onto the table and unzipping it so that a little fuzzy head could poke out.

Gokudera's jaw dropped at the sight of a rat scuttling along the table and over to his boss. "What the hell?!" He was about to swat it away until he was waved off by a frantic Tsuna.

"No, no, this is just Hina!"

"Hurt her and I'll skin you alive if she doesn't maul you first," Kaylin growled in Hina's defence. Gokudera's eye twitched at the threat and Tsuna "hiiee!"d at both Kaylin's tone and the information that Hina could maul something.

"No violence! _No violence!_" Tsuna pleaded. His two friends (one brand new) glared at each other for a moment before settling back down with simultaneous huffs. The fuzzy-headed one sweatdropped before remembering the rodent seated patiently before him. He glanced at her tensely with a newfound cautiousness.

"U-um..."

"**Oh, fuck sake, **she won't maul you, Tsuna. She likes you. And she's going to jump on your head, again," she said, giving him half a second of warning before Hina shot up his arm and hopped onto his head, already used to the distance and power needed to get the job done. To Tsuna's credit, he only jerked a little.

Gokudera, on the other hand, slammed his hands onto the little table and glared fiercly at Kaylin. "Don't let your dirty rat climb on the Tenth, you uncivilized woman!"

Kaylin bristled and leaned forward herself, voice raised, "First of all, her name is Hina and she is _not _dirty! She's a very meticulous cleaner and takes great pride in it!" Gokudera was about to give a surly retort before Kaylin slammed her own hands on the table, leaning forward and raising her voice again, "_Secondly,_ she doesn't _belong _to anyone, she's my partner **and I value her as such!**" She cut Gokudera off again, once more leaning forward, balancing on her knees, now, "_**Thirdly, **_no one _let's _her do anything; she's independent **and she does what she fucking wants!**" Finished, she sat back on her rump with a huff, crossing her arms and glare/pouting at the table, wishing people would just chill out about her rodent companion.

Both Tsuna and Gokudera sweatdropped for the same reason.

"K-Kaylin, you slipped into English...again," he told her somewhat gently. That, and she didn't even object to being called uncivilized. The girl blinked and immediately flushed, but refused to look up. Tsuna turned to Gokudera, who had yet to settle down. "And Gokudera-kun, I really don't mind Hina - although the fact that she's capable of mauling something concerns me," he added under his breath - "so you don't need to get worked up about her, o-okay?" He placated, hands moving in a gesture of such.

Gokudera regarded his boss, then reseated himself formally, hands on his knees, eyes closed. "If the Tenth says so..."

Tsuna twitched at the direct use of the term "Tenth," but forgot about it when Reborn set a hot pot of coffee in the middle of the table.

"Since I'm so nice, I'll share my precious coffee with you three, so stop shouting so much. Before I shoot."

Tsuna stiffened and Kaylin cringed, whereas Gokudera simply took the statement in stride and began pouring coffee into one of the several mugs Reborn had also set on the table.

"If we're having coffee," Kaylin sighed and stood up, lightly clapping her hands on the table as she did so, "I'll go see if I can find some creamer or something."

Reborn pointedly looked at Tsuna, but didn't need to say anything as the boy blinked and turned around to look at Kaylin, who had already made her way to the door. Kaylin sensed his look and waved dismisively at him.

"It's fine, it's fine." She did pause however, to look at Hina looking up at her from inside of Tsuna's head fuzz, the boy also looking up at her.

Kaylin blinked once. Her lips quivered but she didn't move another muscle. Tsuna furrowed his brows at her and Gokudera's irritable glare shifted to a suspicious one. Even Reborn raised an eyebrow.

Kaylin took a deep breath to maintain composure and opened her mouth to _calmly _say something. She was interrupted when Hina gave the tiniest sneeze anyone in the room had ever heard.

The redhead's face immediately flushed and transformed into one of mirth as she doubled over in uncontrollable giggles, clutching her stomach.

The act was so surprisingly _female _that it took everyone in the room by surprise - even Gokudera who had only officially known her for a few hours, though he soon mentally brushed it off as a stupid quirk of the female species that he would never understand, anyways - though Reborn hid it quite well behind his coffee mug.

Kaylin struggled to straighten as she clamped a hand over her mouth, rather embarrassed by her outburst; her face remained flushed for that reason. Her shoulders still shook and her fringe had managed to get somewhat messy. Her metallurgic eyes were infinitely softened by the happiness and tears in them, and it was rather disarming to the males in the room, though the two mafia affiliates would never admit it.

"U-um, are you okay?" Tsuna asked with a sweatdrop once Kaylin's breathing seemed to have stabilized. Kaylin blinked and almost spluttered into laughter once more but managed to stop herself with a harsh bite on her lip, hidden by her hand.

**"Mmhm,"** came the muffled reply. She remembered that that sound was an English gesture, so she nodded to accentuate it. Tsuna wasn't entirely convinced. Kaylin could tell, so she cleared her throat and told him, "Hina's just really adorable, is all."

This only confused the two boys in the room as Kaylin turned and walked out the door. Reborn smirked at the two with knowledge that comes with age.

"You two still don't understand the workings of the female heart," he said sagely.

Tsuna twitched and swung his head back around to glare at him. "As if you do!"

As she descended the steps, braid bouncing happily behind her, the redhead giggled a little to herself, trying desperately not to make a "squee" sound. She vehemently told herself that she was _not _girly and would _not _act as if she were. Even though her maternal instincts exploded on her just prior. She also vehemently told herself that she was _not _in denial.

She was also _not _skipping, even though she just nearly tripped at the last step.

Kaylin rounded the banister and heard Nana humming happily away in the kitchen. She hoped the matron wasn't too busy, though she knew Nana would probably be happy to help - it seemed her nature.

The redhead peeked around the doorframe and saw Nana working on something at the kitchen counter, back to the door. Kaylin shuffled her feet for a moment, suddenly shy. She hoped she didn't end up startling Nana by being too quiet. The girl took a steadying breath and -

\- Nana turned around to get some other ingredient or something and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the shock of blood red poking out from around the doorframe. Kaylin jumped when Nana jumped and the knife the matron was holding nearly slipped out of her hand.

"Maa, _Kei-chan,_ don't startle me like that!" She pleaded, eyes wide.

Kaylin was immediately assaulted with an unnecessarily intense wave of guilt and she flailed her hands in front of her. "I was going to say something just before you turned around but you turned around too fast and I didn't mean to -"

The frantic, rapidly speaking girl was interrupted when the older woman snorted and began giggling. Kaylin blinked as Nana waved her into the kitchen.

"Kei-chan, I'm not mad!" She giggled again, "Don't be so nervous!"

Kaylin blinked and took tentative steps into the kitchen, a light flush on her face.

"Actually, you came at a good time, Kei-chan. I was just making snacks!" Nana beamed at the girl and turned back to what Kaylin now could see were little finger-sized sandwiches. "They're really easy to make, so I'm almost done, already!" She sang. "I got to thinking and I figured at your age you'd be more interested in convenience than in making yourselves healthy snacks, so I made some for you!" Nana bounced a little on her toes, proud of her insight into the teenage intellect. Kaylin internally conceded that of the three teenagers (including herself, of course) wouldn't care much enough to spend the time on healthy snack foods, and Reborn would just let them do as they pleased as long as it didn't bother him. That and he would eat whatever the hell he wanted, anyways.

Kaylin shyly looked over Nana's shoulder at the sandwiches and blinked. White bread, some greens such as lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, some fresh-looking lunch meat - they looked fantastic, she thought, impressed.

"Thank you, Kei-chan."

Kaylin jerked a little, startled. She stepped back, but Nana kept looking down at her handiwork, though her eyes looked a little far away and she had a small, fond smile on her face. Kaylin's brows furrowed in confusion, not sure why she should be receiving gratitude.

Nana continued, "I know it's only been a little while, but ever since you and Reborn-kun made friends with him, Tsu-kun's been much more lively. And he's even made another friend and brought him over from school!" Nana's smile widened as she looked over her shoulder at Kaylin, who was at a loss for words and blushing. "This is the most friends he's ever had, you know." Kaylin saw the woman's smile turn just a little sad as she shifted her gaze back to the countertop. "And he's never brought anyone over before, either."

Kaylin found herself frowning just a little, but Nana stopped her train of thought before it even began by spinning around and beaming at her again.

"But now, look!" Nana grabbed ahold of both of Kaylin's hands, and the girl noted in the back of her mind that they were about the same size. The older woman looked up at Kaylin since she was about two inches or so shorter, surprising the girl again.

Nana's eyes were bright and sparkling again, allowing no words from Kaylin to form as she stared at the woman, mouth open, eyes wide.

"Tsu-kun's made friends all on his own, and it looks like I don't have to worry, anymore!" The mother leaned a little more forward, pinning Kaylin with an earnestly grateful look. "That's why I'm thankful, Kei-chan. So keep taking care of my son, okay?" Nana smiled winningly and Kaylin was struck again by how pretty the woman was.

She blinked, not quite knowing what to say.

"I - u-um," Kaylin stammered intelligently, still blushing. She couldn't seem to get any multi-syllable words out, so she nodded dumbly.

Nana apparently expected nothing less, and gave Kaylin's hands a warm squeeze.

The matron straightened expelled some air dismissively. "Now that that's over," she giggled, giving the girl a wink, "You'd better take these snacks up to the boys before they get impatient!" She turned to grab the tray that the sandwiches were on and pushed it at Kaylin, who jumped and blinked owlishly down at it, still coming down from the surprise of Nana's words.

Nana giggled again and twirled Kaylin around by the shoulders and gave her a gentle push towards the door. Kaylin stumbled a little and looked back at the woman, but she had already turned back to the counter, humming tunelessly. Kaylin blinked again, then turned and made her way up the steps, light on her feet.

Nana had been grateful to Kaylin. The redhead had realized that Tsuna's school life had been a little rough, but...

Kaylin was so dazed that she didn't have time to think before she reached the door to Tsuna's room.

"Someone get the door, my hands are full!" She called, tapping her foot in some kind of attempt to increase her patience.

_"Ah, allow me, Tenth!" _She heard Gokudera's voice and shuffling sounds as the boy scrambled to get to the door before Tsuna got the chance to turn around completely.

_"Ah - th-thank you, Gokudera-kun..." _Kaylin could almost see his sweatdrop.

_'The kid is certainly rushing to be of help to Tsuna," _she thought bemusedly.

The door opened to reveal a _deeply _scowling Gokudera. Kaylin instinctively frowned back. The boy 'hmph'd and wasted no time with pleasantries as he turned on his heel to retake his seat to Tsuna's right. The redhead felt her cheek twitch.

"Eh, Kaylin, what's that?" Tsuna wondered, eying the tray in his friend's hands.

Kaylin grinned at him, stepping forward and closing the door with her heel. Any souring of her mood by Gokudera was quickly forgotten upon her recalling Nana's words and actions.

"Maman made snacks," she informed him.

Tsuna blinked.

"You said 'Maman' again."

Kaylin blinked.

"O-oh." She flushed and Gokudera scoffed. Her cheek twitched again.

Kaylin cleared her throat as she made her way to her seat, striving for a little regained dignity. She sat the tray down in the middle of the table and seated herself more primly than was normally in her nature.

Fighting a smirk, Reborn scooted a very slightly cooled cup of coffee in front of the girl.

"Here."

She blinked and gave a "thank you." Then she paused.

And blinked again.

"Idiot, you forgot the creamer," came Gokudera's helpful observation.

...

...

_Twitch._

**"Oh, **_**son of**_** a fucking piece of **_**shit**_**!"**

* * *

It had been a long day and Gokudera Hayato was tired. Despite that, he was sure that he'd be unable to rest well even if he had somewhere to sleep peacefully tonight. Now that he thought of it, he'd have to fix that.

He had a place he needed to be now, after all.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he thought about that evening, eyes cast to the ground.

To his joy he had gotten a little better acquainted with the Tenth. His boss was humble and modest, but that didn't undermine the pure greatness that Gokudera could so very clearly see in the boy. He hated himself for not seeing it sooner, and that had lead him to make a terrible mistake in attacking him.

But he wouldn't dwell on that. If he had time for regret, then he could focus on making it right, which is exactly what he intended to do. Exactly what he _would _do.

The Tenth's mother was an excellent cook and hostess. As expected of the family of the one who was worthy of becoming the Vongola Decimo. She had welcomed an unexpected guest with such gusto and kindness that Gokudera hadn't really been sure what to do with himself or the unignorable feeling of gladness that welled up inside of his chest.

It had been so terribly long since he'd even _seen _such maternal behavior, much less been the one it was directed to. He didn't know how to handle or cope with any of it, yet.

And then there was _that _one. The uncivilized female.

What the hell was she doing hanging around the Tenth like that, calling herself a subordinate?

Gokudera lit a cigarette out of habit and irritation.

He had a long, long list of people that he didn't like, and now she was on it. Top twenty at _least._

And her eyes gave him a bad feeling. At times they were sharp, metallic, and dangerous. If he was honest with himself, they occasionally put him on edge.

He didn't like her.

That, and she irritated the ever-living _shit _out of him. Not that most people didn't in the first place.

And the freakin' rat.

The freakin' _rat._

Who the hell carries around a _rat _with them?!

Although the Tenth seemed to like the rodent... He supposed he could let the rodent slide. For now.

But that _girl -_

He stopped that train of thought. He was getting a headache.

He looked up at the now dark sky and chewed on his cigarette, contemplating. Since he was going to stay in Namimori he'd need to restock his dynamite. He couldn't very well protect the Tenth without his weapon. He'd have to book a round trip flight back to Sicily, which would use up more or less the rest of his funds...

He sighed but didn't complain. This was for the Tenth, after all.

He frowned as an afterthought meandered its way into his mind.

He'd have to find an apartment...

* * *

**A/N:**

**DEAR MOTHER OF GOD THAT WAS SUCH A WRITER'S BLOCK-RIDDEN PIECE OF CLUSTERFUCKERY.**

**I am SO sorry that this took me so long to update. Issues came up that made this chapter rather difficult for me to write/finish and GADAMMIT FFN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU BEING SUCH A FUCKING DOUCHEBAG RIGHT NOW STOP IT**

**GEEZ**

**or maybe that's just my kindle oops**

**Also, please ignore how the extra is longer than the actual chapter. Just. You know. I'm not sure what I was doing with that.**

**Ciao ciao!**

**Kei: So.**

**Mutt: Oh god.**

**Reborn: *impassive***

**Tsuna: Kaylin! Where have you been?  
**

**Mutt: Oh god.**

**Kei: I've just been...oh, you know. Exercising.**

**Reborn: *snorts***

**Kei: YOU LITTLE -**

**Mutt: Oh god.**

**Kei: - SHIT.**

**Tsuna: HIIIEEE! Kaylin, where did you get that baseball bat?!**

**Mutt: Oh _GOD -_**

**Reborn: *disappears*  
**

**Tsuna: _Why?! Why can't I just live peacefully?!_**

**Kei: WHERE DID HE GO.  
**

**Mutt: *flees less discreetly***

**Tsuna: *SOBS* DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!**

***explosions and crumbling buildings***

**Reborn: *cackles in the air from a Leon-hang glider***


	8. Some Seriously Unnecessary Drama

**Mutt: So this chapter will be kind of intense.**

**Kei: AND I'M STILL SORE YOU FUCKI -**

**Goku: STOP FUCKING SHOUTING!**

**Kei: YOU'RE NOT EVEN IN THIS CHAPTER, LOSER**

**Goku: *turns to stone***

**Tsuna: I think you made him feel bad...**

**Mutt: Look at what you've done! He just got here and you're being mean! You know his backstory and everything!**

**Kei: That doesn't mean he has to be a dick about everything!**

**Mutt: Well, you **_**were **_**caps-locking, there.**

**Kei: *grumbles***

**Mutt: Yo, Tsuna, why don't you do the disclaimer this time since Aho-dera and Kei-chan are sulking?**

**Kei &amp; Goku: I'M NOT SULKING.**

**Mutt: Aaaand that's you're cue, buddy.**

**Tsuna: U-um! Er, let's see...**

**Disclaimer: The author doesn't profit from this story or anything... and she only own - HIIEEE, KAYLIN'S GOING TO KILL ME**

**Mutt: I only brain pooped the OC.**

**Kei: NOT THAT SHIT AGAIN, GADAMMI -**

* * *

So, so tired.

And _sore._

I had taken one last day off from school, though I knew it would probably not be quite enough for me to recuperate. Although, considering how sore I was when I laid down for sleep the night before (which was rather early for me, mind you) and considering how I was markedly _less _sore when I woke up that morning from a very fitful sleep, I was recovering a hell of a lot better than normal people would.

My Flame has been cancelling out a lot of the damage my muscles took during my _fucking escapade _the day prior. The Flame of Nil is more suited to healing injuries of the traumatic kind, such as cuts, bruises, broken bones (even poisoning), while more subtle things like muscle fatigue can only be helped so much. I wasn't entirely sure _how _it worked or didn't work, or why, et cetera; I just knew what it did and didn't do. In general.

I had asked Tsuna to take more careful notes so he could share them with me - a plus of planned absences and not keeping secrets, and it was about time to head out. If I was timely, I could catch him while he made his way home

...I was starved for company, okay?! Hina slept all day and I didn't have anything to do, and for most of the day I was too sore to go and _find _something to do, so I was by myself without anyone to talk to for most of the day! So sue me if I wanna go visit my friend!

I halted in tying my tennis shoes, fingers pausing in tying a knot that I'd have to redo.

_Friend._

I...hadn't had a friend my own age before. That said, it sort of made sense that I wouldn't really realize what one would be like until it hit me in the face. Well, Tsuna was technically younger than me by a couple years - not that he knew that, yet - but I thought that that was as close as it'd get.

He had said it so quickly, like it...like it wasn't weird for him to say. Like it was apparent. Like it was _obvious_ to him that we were friends. Admittedly, he said that about Gokudera, too, but that didn't change the fact that he also said it about me. Tsuna considered us friends.

That made me...really happy.

I didn't notice that I was smiling to myself as I habitually checked my pockets and proceeded out the door, Hina perched on my shoulder. I also didn't notice the hum of smug happiness the rat was exuding in my direction.

I locked the newly repaired door (I nagged Reborn until he paid for it, the little shit) and trotted down the rickety stairs and off of the plot of land. Most students of Nami Middle don't live near this far edge of the residential district, so I didn't see any until I got nearer to Tsuna's preferred route to and from school.

I received a handful of curious looks here and there, but it must have been pretty apparent that I felt like shit, as nobody seemed very surprised or suspicious at seeing me out of uniform on a school day.

My musing was confirmed when Tsuna spotted me leaning against a wall, waiting for him to pass by.

"K-Kaylin!"

I gave an apparently weak wave with a cheeky grin. "Yo, Tsuna." Oh. I sounded kinda crappy, too.

Tsuna gave a mildly worried frown. "You look _really _tired. Didn't you rest well, today?"

I blinked, then gave a small smile at his concern, the word "friend" flitting through my mind. Then I snorted. "Do I really look that bad?"

Tsuna flailed. "N-no! I mean - you look tired, but - you don't look, er - !"

_"Woah,_ there, Tsuna!" I laughed, "It's fine!" He still looked like he had accidentally offended my great ancestors. "I'd rather you be honest with me, anyways."

He didn't seem all that convinced, but let it go, sighing to himself. From the look on his face he seemed to be berating himself internally. I switched the subject.

"So what did I miss in school?"

The fuzzy kid looked up at me and his entire demeanor seemed to brighten and he smiled a little. I blinked, honestly surprised.

"Good day?" I inquired with raised eyebrows, pushing off of the wall and motioning for him to walk with me. I had to stop the quiver in my upper lip as Tsuna seemed to have an internal monologue, his expression changing from happy to deadpan and back again.

"Well, it was mostly normal, especially with Gokudera-kun back in Italy for the now -" He jerked in alarm a little at my scowl as I huffed some air out of my nose. Tsuna laughed nervously, trying to placate me. "He - he's really not _that_ bad...I don't think..." He trailed off, apparently unable to think of a convincing argument on the spot.

I eyed him. "You're kind to a fault." He blinked, unsure as to how to take that semi-compliment. I reluctantly shrugged, though. "Admittedly, neither of us _actually_ know him that well, so maybe we'll warm up to each other or something...maybe," I relented. Even Tsuna could tell that I doubted my own words, though. and he laughed nervously again.

"So, school?" I prodded.

"Oh! Um, like I said, it was pretty normal until after PE," he began, and he smiled and seemed to contain some bubbling excitement, "but then a really popular guy came and asked me for some advice." I blinked and nearly missed a step, eyes widening in surprise.

"Really?"

He nodded with a smile.

"It looks like you're beginning to move up in life, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna and I both jumped out of our skins with simultaneous _"hiiee!"_s and whipped our heads to the right where a shrub with a face was smirking at us, though it raised it's eyebrow at me after I screamed.

_Reborn, you little shit!_

The infant gave a look of concern, though to a discerning eye one could clearly see that it was fake, and he frowned.

"You shouldn't let that become a habit, Kaylin. It's unseemly."

I blushed crimson. "I don't want to hear you say that from inside of a _fucking shrub!_"It was clear that all three parties (including me) was impressed that I managed to avoid slipping into English. "What the hell are you even doing in there?!" I was desperately trying to divert attention, and they both knew it.

Reborn let it slide, though. "Tsuna was taking too long to get home. That, and I was going to look for you, anyways," he looked me in the eye. I blinked, but before I could ask him to elaborate, he continued. "But first," he turned to Tsuna after having stepped out of the shrub (seriously, why?). "You were talking about a student a minute ago. About that Yamamoto."

Tsuna did a double take, though he was already looking at the baby.

"You knew?!"

"Wait, the kid that asked you for advice was Yamamoto?"

"Make him your subordinate."

_Don't ignore me!_

_Wait, what?_

"Wait, what?!" Tsuna exclaimed in alarm. I also shot Reborn a worried and questioning stare.

He wants to get that kid involved with the mafia?

Tsuna voiced my concerns, "You're going to turn my classmate into a member of the mafia, too?! Absolutely not! He's really into baseball, and I want to help him out as a friend!"

Reborn "hmph"d and didn't seem at all concerned about Tsuna's reluctance, treating it as a minor setback not even worth fretting over.

"That said, I'd like to move on to another important subject."

It looked like Tsuna nearly screamed in frustration as he pulled his hair. I was rather agitated, too, but Tsuna's woes took precedence and I moved my hands in a placating manner. I cast a worried look over my shoulder at Reborn, brows furrowed and frown in place.

The hitman saw my unasked inquiry and continued, though he would have whether or not I was interested, anyway.

"I have orders from the Ninth."

Both Tsuna and I froze, looking wide eyed at Reborn. My jaw dropped and my stomach clenched and I was suddenly insanely nervous.

Oh. That kind of important subject.

Tsuna spoke up first. "The current Vongola boss?" He questioned, voice a little shaky.

Reborn nodded, somewhat indulgently. "Orders for both of you," he elaborated.

"Eh?!"

I pointed to myself, almost bemusedly. "Me, too?"

The baby nodded again, rather business-like. "Last night I submitted a routine report to the Ninth, detailing Tsuna's progress as a boss, including any subordinates he may have acquired." He looked at me pointedly, and I swallowed. "I told him about you prior to this particular report, of course, but up until now he's been considering what to do with you."

My blood seemed go a little colder. He was the Vongola Nono, there's no doubt he knows full well what happened in my past - for the most part. Could it be that he didn't trust me? I supposed that was fair enough... But surely he wouldn't make me leave Tsuna's family...?

Reborn could clearly sense my rising tension. He put me out of my misery by assuring me, "Don't worry, you can stay."

I exhaled a breath that I didn't realize I had been holding. I then became acutely aware of Tsuna looking back and forth between Reborn and me. Dear god, what could he be thinking? I resisted looking at him - then he'd definitely be suspicious.

But...that would mean that I was actively hiding something from him.

Then again, I was actively hiding something from everyone except a very select few people.

I grit my teeth - was it entirely necessary for Tsuna to be here for this?!

No, I reminded myself; these were orders for the both of us. I just had to play cool and not show any cards that I haven't been asked for. I just desperately hoped that nothing would be said to make Tsuna distrust me.

We were friends, after all.

I was sure Reborn could make out the train of my thoughts - surely he could, even if there wasn't mild panic just below the surface of my expression.

"You can stay," he repeated, "however - " my shoulders stiffened a fraction more " - you're status in the family is probationary."

"...Probationary," I repeated hesitantly.

"Aa. There's a condition." He turned to Tsuna, who stiffened. "Which is why you need to hear this, too."

"Me?!"

I tried to keep my face blank as I finally looked sidelong at Tsuna. He was still looking back and forth between the two of us, obviously confused and a little exasperated.

"The condition is that Kaylin is not to engage in combat without your permission, Tsuna."

"Mine? Combat?!" Tsuna looked almost terrified. He couldn't seem to think of any multi-syllable questions.

I stood up a little straighter as I immediately understood the purpose of the order, aside from Tsuna's safety. This was to help ensure that I was kept under control. Or, at least, to ensure that I was kept from going _out_ of control.

"There are a couple of exceptions," Reborn said, "those being self-defence and the protection of Tsuna and the family. It will be my decision whether or not any actions you take constitute as exceptions or not, so there won't be any loopholes. It should also be noted that, should the situation arise, I have the authority to give you approval to act. Understood?"

I squared my shoulders. While I wasn't used to taking orders, I knew when it was necessary. And I respected Reborn and the Ninth, so it wasn't like it was very hard.

"Understood."

Reborn nodded. "Good. Any questions?"

_"Yes!" _Tsuna exclaimed. "You're talking about all of this like I'm Kaylin's boss! I keep telling you that I'm not going to be involved with the mafia!"

I sighed and bit my lip, but didn't say anything. I had gotten used to Tsuna's case of denial by now. Besides, I didn't want to see his bubble burst.

I hoped that he would be able to deny it for as long as possible.

I spent the rest of the evening half lost in thought, finding it a little difficult to interact with Tsuna and his mother. I assured them that I was just tired, and they seemed to believe it, though Tsuna seemed less convinced than his mother. Reborn, though, I imagined, wasn't fooled at all, but he didn't call me out on it.

Knowing that I would regret it in the morning, I went to sleep a little late that night.

_**\- line break here -**_

I should not have gone to sleep a little late that night.

I was an absolute grump that morning, undoubtedly scowling at more things than usual and probably giving a few pedestrians heart attacks. I tried to reign in my poor attitude for fear of Tsuna regressing into being afraid of me again, as he had inched away from the entire walk to school and all the way into the classroom.

I slumped into my seat and banged my head onto my desk unceremoniously, earning a "hiiee!" from Tsuna, who was apparently somewhat concerned and would have said so sooner had he not been terrified, I imagine. My lack of concern for cranial trauma seemed to cross the line, though.

"U-um, Kay - "

"Keeeiii-_chan!_"

He was interrupted by a feminine voice that made me cringe, but before I could lift my head to scowl and possibly shout, I was glomped from behind, keeping my face pressed into the desk.

"Good morning, Kei-chan!"

"..._Saya_..." I growled into the desk. I could feel her stiffen somewhat, not expecting my _especially_ sour mood.

"Uh-um." Was all she said before she _carefully_ and _delicately _removed herself from her deathlock on my back and scampered away several meters. I slowly, _slowly_ lifted my face from the desk and began to turn back to look at her. The class had gone silent and I saw in my peripheral vision that Tsuna looked absolutely terrified out of his mind.

Say was holding her hands in what was probably the same position they had been in since she _assaulted_ me, eyes wide with a plastered-on smile on her face, though I could see the corners of her lips twitching with the strain.

She risked speaking. "I, um. I missed you?"

_Twitch._

**"What the absolute fu - "**

"Hey, everyone!"

Nobody really moved from watching the spectacle playing out before them until the boy shouted his next words of news, which _immediately _made me forget about my impending outburst of rage.

"Yamamoto's about to jump off the roof!"

My face went slack, as nearly everyone's did as the class as a whole turned to the messenger, who looked out of breath and had probably been running all the way from the roof.

There was silence before someone broke it with a supremely incredulous voice.

"Yamamoto? From our class?"

Dissenting chatter rose from the quiet.

Most of the boys laughed and scoffed, "Him? That's impossible."

Whereas most of the girls got irked, "There are good and bad jokes, you know!"

The messenger shook his head frantically, saying, "Yesterday when he stayed after school to practice he went too far and broke his arm!"

That seemed to strike true in the minds of most of the students, as they immediately began to rush out of the door. I snapped out of the small stupor I had been in and slowly stood up before noticing that Tsuna was still in the room, pale and trembling.

I frowned and started to call out to it, but someone I didn't notice had lagged behind beat me to it.

"Tsuna-kun, let's go!"

Kyoko's voice snapped Tsuna out of his own stupor as she said in a shaky voice, "Af...after I go to the bathroom."

Kyoko frowned but nodded before rushing off and down the hall.

He made no move as he stared at the floor, apparently horrified.

"Tsuna?" I called, gentle as I could. Even still he jumped violently and whipped his head around to stare at me, mouth handing open in surprise. My frown deepened. "You can go to the bathroom later, Tsuna; we need to get up there, _now_."

His shaking intensified as he blurted out, "This is my fault!"

I blinked, taken aback. "What? How the hell could this be your fault?" I moved towards him looking stern and grabbed him by the arm, steering him out the door and down the hall, him not putting up any sort of resistance.

"Y-yesterday, when he asked me for advice, he told me that his baseball wasn't going well lately, a-and I told him that practicing m-more was the answer!"

I stiffened, but kept looking ahead as what he told me clicked. I understood how he could think it was his fault, but -

"There's absolutely no way that you could have known that he'd go and break his damn arm, Tsuna." He flinched away from the harshness in my voice. I didn't mean to bark at him like that, but I was damn frustrated.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I just - I can't understand what the hell he's _thinking_," I said under my breath. I didn't realize that my grip on Tsuna's arm tightened.

No, I didn't know the guy at all, really, but whatever was going through his mind to make him wanna jump off the damn roof I knew, without a doubt, he didn't deserve.

Panic didn't really set in until I slammed open the door and skidded to a halt, dropping Tsuna's arm. I could easily see Yamamoto's head over the other students', and I could very easily confirm with my own eyes what was going on, forcing me to accept the situation.

Yamamoto was set on fucking killing himself via splatting all over the cement.

**"Fucking hell!"** I ground out. My mind was immediately reeling, trying to figure out what to do. I had been in too many dangerous situations to full on panic at a time like this, but this was a fucking kid and godammit I was _not _about to stand around and let him off himself. I wasn't thinking about any moral repercussions or motives to what I was doing - I just didn't want the kid to die.

I absently looked around for Tsuna, only to see him _not _there.

I was about to have a major flip out until I saw Reborn standing next to the corner of the exit that everyone had come from. He waved me over and I hurriedly trotted to him. I found Tsuna clutching his head in his hands, slumped on the ground in panic, muttering to himself.

"What should I do?! I shouldn't have said that - I can't face Yamamoto - !"

I stiffened.

I kind of wanted to smack some sense into him.

I had only twitched in Tsuna's direction before I felt a tug on my pantleg. Knowing who it must be I immediately stopped in my tracks.

"Don't lose your temper," he warned me.

I bit down hard on my lip. I looked desperately over to Yamamoto for a second before muttering, "I know," to the infant, who released his hold on my leg, deciding to trust me for the time being.

I stomped over to Tsuna, who snapped his head up and froze when he saw the look on my face. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that I still scared him sometimes. I exhaled and opened my eyes and leaned down to grab his arms and haul him to his feet and looked him dead in the eyes. I think he was too afraid and stressed out to say anything, but I spoke before he managed to clear his head.

"Distract him."

He blinked out of his daze. "Wh-what?"

I gave his arms a squeeze. "Distract him," I repeated. "Keep him busy for a few minutes. Give me time."

"G-give you time? A-and what do you mean `keep him busy`?! What am I supposed to say?! I can't - "

"Tsuna!" I almost shouted. He jerked but stopped talking, staring at me, wide-eyed. "Don't _panic,_" I reprimanded. "We - you and me - are going to stop him from hurting himself." I honestly doubted that he could talk Yamamoto down from there, but then again, if anyone could it would be Tsuna. But, that's why my plan would cover two fronts. I told Tsuna as much and, to his credit, he listened quietly.

"You try to talk him down from there - do what you can. I'm going to go downstairs to the second floor and to whatever room has a window directly below Yamamoto." I then tried to hide a grimace. "And then I'm going to work some magic."

Tsuna's brows furrowed and he looked like he was about to freak out again, but a squeaky voice interrupted him.

"You want to help Yamamoto as a friend, right?" Reborn didn't wait for a response as we both turned looked to him leveling the barrel of his gun at Tsuna. "Then don't run."

Tsuna promptly "hiiee!"d and took off through the crowd and towards Yamamoto - more accurately, away from Reborn and his itchy trigger finger. I didn't jump as I felt Reborn land on my shoulder, and I tore off down the stairs.

"What do you intend to do?" He asked me calmly, but with clear intrigue in his voice.

I jumped the last several steps I needed to take before answering, trying to hide my own doubt in myself.

"Cancel out some gravity in the area by the window."

The little hitman made a humming sound and then jumped off my shoulder. I skidded to a halt and frantically looked back at him. He was standing by a compartment or something in the wall - I couldn't be bothered to remember what it was.

Before I could say anything in panic, Reborn urged me on. "Go do what you will. I'll be backup."

I didn't really understand what he meant by that, but I just nodded and turned to sprint down the hall and nearly trip over myself yanking the door open to what I hoped was a room with an adjacent window to Yamamoto...

I hurried across the room and threw open a window, but barely peeked out. I had to make sure that Yamamoto wasn't looking down or something - it'd be bad news if he decided to move. I confirmed that he was indeed directly above me, then wasted no time in setting to work.

I focused and blocked out what noise I could hear, which seemed to be Yamamoto's yelling. I reluctantly ignored this and proceeded to summon my flames.

My flames weren't particularly corporeal, so it was only a matter of focus and imagination to manipulate and cancel out less corporeal things, such as gravity. I say "less corporeal" because of the (hypothetical) existence of the graviton, which was massless and therefore _also_ not particularly corporeal.

What? I do research.

Since gravity wasn't a wave or anything similar and couldn't be blocked like a signal, it was kind of difficult for me to completely get rid of it, so I could only, in this circumstance, slow Yamamoto's decent should he fall - or jump.

Once I got started, it was pretty easy to remember how to proceed and get back into the flow of cancelling gravity - like muscle memory. However, unlike in the past, I had much more limited supply of energy. The worst part was that I didn't know by _how much_ my energy was limited. I would have to be very careful. Yamamoto might end up with another broken limb if he landed funny, but he'd be alive.

I wasn't sure how much time passed, but it couldn't have been more than a minute. I risked a peek out of the window.

And immediately regretted it.

As I stuck my head out and looked up I swear I heard a gunshot and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw a body falling directly above my head. I was doubly freaked out and confused when realized that it was _two _bodies falling.

And when I realized that one of them was _freaking Tsuna _I acted without thinking for an instant, totally on instinct.

_Assess_

_Assuming gravity is standard and fall time as of this moment is approximately two seconds, current velocity is roughly 19.5 m/s^2_

_Objective is to protect Sawada Tsunayoshi and Yamamoto Takeshi._

_Counting down in half-seconds_

_...3_

_...2_

I grabbed Tsuna's wrist and the back of Yamamoto's shirt with precision thanks to my Assessment just as Tsuna started to flip over - I belatedly noticed that he was clad in boxers -

Whatever slack my arms had disappeared in an instant and I felt the window sill dig into my stomach painfully, but I didn't fall - immediately. Instead I struggled desperately, but Tsuna wriggled in my grip with a fierceness that was extremely foreign about him. He turned and wrapped his arm around Yamamoto's torso under his arms and planted his feet into the wall, all in a split second - the gravity I managed to cancel out slowed their decent enough to enable me to support them for just less then a second before it was too much. But that was apparently more than enough time for Tsuna to figure out what to do on instinct.

I realized with panic that I was starting to fall with them because of my refusal to let them go. Tsuna accounted for this and grabbed the wrist of the hand that had latched onto his own.

And with an almost indignant squeal on my part, he pushed off with his feet.

"Save Yamamoto and Kaylin with my Dying Will!" He shouted.

And the three of us dropped like rocks. At an angle.

Tsuna yanked me forward and repositioned himself and Yamamoto and me _midair _until he could grab both of us around the waist and flip us onto his shoulders like he was carrying sacks of potatoes. My stomach did at least three backflips and a front layout as we hit the ground, Tsuna's legs braced wide, knees bent, Yamamoto and I held safely above the ground.

The two of us were in a daze when Tsuna gently set us on the ground. I looked up at him just before the Dying Will Flame flickered out of existence on his forehead. Our fuzzy rescuer collapsed onto his hands and knees with a great exhale of breath. Then he jerked his head up and scrambled around to look frantically between Yamamoto and me.

"Are you two okay?!"

I blinked. Yamamoto and I looked at each other with wide eyes, still extremely dazed by what just happened. We simultaneously looked back at Tsuna and nodded silently.

Tsuna sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." He then plopped onto his rear, very likely exhausted from the unexpected amount of adrenaline he just experienced. As was I, for that matter. But they were both safe.

I took a deep breath.

Then I snapped my gaze over to Yamamoto, who jerked in surprise at the undoubtedly very intense death glare I was giving him. I opened my mouth to speak, then snapped it back closed. Then opened to try again, but found that I still couldn't decide what I wanted to yell about first. So many choice words were floating through my head. I closed my eyes and found that my fists were trembling with anger. I bit hard on my lip, seriously fighting the urge to punch something in the face.

"K-Kaylin -" Tsuna started, but I interrupted him by snapping my eyes open and biting his head off.

"What?!"

Tsuna flinched and was wide-eyed with what was probably fear. I clamped my eyes shut again and rubbed my face with both hands.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I tend to yell when I'm _worried out of my friggin' mind!_" I ended up shouting anyways and glaring at Yamamoto again, who flinched as much as Tsuna did.

Good lord, I was _seething._ I couldn't remember the last time I was this fucking mad.

"U-um, Kaylin, m-maybe you shouldn't be yelling at him..." Tsuna said delicately while moving his hands in a placating gesture and trailed off, looking at me helplessly. I opened my mouth again, gaping somewhat, then clacked it shut for another time in the past few minutes.

"No, Tsuna, she's right to be angry..." Yamamoto finally spoke up, eyes glued to the ground in front of him. I looked at him, immediately feeling somewhat guilty for shouting like I had. He had just been ready to commit suicide, and I...

...Was still pissed.

"You're damn right I am!" I managed not to shout, at least, and only raised my voice.

"Kaylin!" Tsuna reprimanded, starting to sound angry himself. I ignored him, steadfastly glaring holes into Yamamoto's eyelids.

"I don't know whether to beat the shit out of you or hug you until your ribs collapse!" His eyes flicked up then, looking surprised, but wary, chastised, and guilty.

Good.

I leaned forward and assured him, "I'm leaning towards punching you in the throat," I hissed through gritted teeth. His eyes widened and Tsuna scrambled to his feet and grabbed my arm, trying to haul me away from him.

"No violence, Kaylin! Remember?!" I snapped my gaze around to him and was about to say something like I was surprised, which I was, but I suddenly felt all the blood rush from my head and I had a serious sensation of vertigo. I was wide-eyed and must have stumbled because Yamamoto realized something was wrong, too, and was on his feet in two seconds with his good left hand grabbing my free arm, steadying me.

My vision swam and I tried to blink the feeling away, like it was something tangible caught in my eye.

"Kaylin?!" Tsuna's voice, worried, got through - my hearing wasn't going, at least.

Shit, was my energy really that limited? I was so careful, too - dammit! It wasn't my lungs that I strained, at least, otherwise I'd be having a coughing fit. And that might get a little bloody.

"I'm good - I'm good; just a little...dizzy spell, is all - no biggie."

"Are you sure?" Tsuna pressed. "You look pale..." Yeah, he didn't seem convinced.

I gave a smile that probably looked more like a grimace as I gingerly pulled my arms from their grasps and took a step back, shrinking a little under their worried scrutiny - even Yamamoto? I was just about to rip the kid's damn head off...

"I'm fine, really. But, I'll take myself to the infirmary anyways, you know, just in case," I babbled. I didn't know how bad I depleted my energy, which was basically my own life force, and I figured I should go lay down. "I was sick yesterday, after all, so I probably just overexerted myself or...something."

Before either of them could protest I made to move away, heading for the school building. I managed to take two steps before my head started swimming again and I nearly tripped.

"Oh," was all I could manage before I blacked out.

* * *

I blinked blearily and didn't move until my vision came into focus.

I was lying down...somewhere that wasn't my room...

...The fuck?

I quickly sat up and saw that I was under some blankets on a cot...

**"...The fuck?" **I repeated verbally.

"Eh? Kei-chan!"

I snapped my head in the direction of the voice.

I blinked in surprise.

"You finally woke up!" Yamamoto fretted.

I blinked rapidly in bemusement and furrowed my brows.

"Um, yeah..."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Feeling...? **Oh, son of a bitch!**" I suddenly remembered and flopped back onto the cot with a thump and dug the heels of my hands into my eyelids and groaned like I was dying. "I blacked out?!" I kicked my feet under the covers like I was throwing a tantrum - which I nearly was.

"You really freaked Tsuna and me out!"

Just as quickly as I had flopped down I sat back up. "Where is Tsuna?" I asked, looking around like I might find his fuzzy head poking out from somewhere for some reason.

"He's been in class," he told me. I looked at Yamamoto sidelong and squinted at him.

"Why aren't you?" Though I suspected...

The boy's shoulders stiffened for a second before they slumped and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I've been hanging out here all day since I didn't really want to go back to the classroom, yet..." He avoided looking me in the eye, instead looking intently at his feet or his cast.

I felt my expression soften, the anger that had hit me like a freakin' truck after that fiasco had ended was nearly gone completely, at least for now. Yamamoto, on the other hand, seemed to still be feeling... Self-conscious? Nervous? ...Ashamed?

Waitaminnit.

"All day?" I questioned, wondering if I heard him right.

Yamamoto blinked and looked up at me again, tilting his head, but he nodded. "I think school will be over in less then an hour, now." He informed me.

My jaw dropped and I suddenly wanted to cry.

_Why?! That's four days! Four days in a row I've missed classes!_

I slumped my shoulders in dejected resignation.

_Well, at least I actually managed to show up this time..._

"I really caused trouble today, huh."

I quickly straightened and looked sharply over to the (apparently) still troubled teen who had (apparently) been at my bedside all day. He was definitely still torn up about it.

_Gadammit, Kaylin, why are you worrying about yourself right now? Just look at the kid!_

He still refused to meet my eyes and his good hand was clenching and unclenching on his knee. He looked like he kinda wanted to punch himself, honestly.

I bit my lip and furrowed my brows at him. "Have you been stewing there like that all day?" I was pretty sure there was worry evident in my voice.

Yamamoto blinked and laughed a little. "Well, I took three naps, I think, so no...not entirely..." He trailed off at the hard glare I threw at him and he laughed nervously before answering honestly. "After we carried you here, I talked to Tsuna for a little bit, and that helped me feel a lot better," he relented.

I squinted at him, scrutinizing. He shifted a little bit and _continued _to avoid looking at me.

My eye twitched and I took a deep breath. _Okay, glaring at him like he's done something unspeakable isn't going to help him feel any better, _I reasoned with myself. I let out the air I was holding in a long-suffering sigh and slapped my cheeks with both hands. When I stopped squishing my face I forced my expression to _not _be sharp.

You know what?

"Hey." Yamamoto finally looked up at my change of tone, question and caution in his expression. Christ, I made him reluctant to be here, didn't I?

I sighed one more time before continuing, "I'm...sorry that I was so mad and that...I said that I wanted to punch you in the throat..." I was pretty sure my cheeks flushed at that last part and I pulled on my braid self-consciously. "I was just -" I stomped my foot rather ineffectively on the cot - "you scared the crap out of me, you idiot!"

Though my words could be construed as harsh, the tone of my voice apparently was not, as Yamamoto only blinked at me in surprise.

"That's not how I usually am, okay? This was a very stressful circumstance, okay - I thought you were gonna freakin' die! _Speaking of which - _"

"I'm sorry, Kei-chan!"

He interrupted me mid-sentance and I stared with my mouth open for a second before I snapped it shut with a clack. He was looking at me with - were those puppy dog eyes? Was Yamamoto capable of such dastardly things?!

"Like I told Tsuna after we brought you here, I don't know what I was thinking."

_Wow,_ he looked like he still felt guilty as hell.

I pursed my lips. What does one say in this kind of situation?

"I didn't even consider the worry that I'd cause people..."

"Hey, hey, hey - it's over, now," I interrupted his train of thought before I could think about what to say any further - the words just tumbled out at this point. "Believe me when I tell you that regret and beating yourself up won't do anything to alleviate the guilt of past mistakes, nor will it do anything to make them right." I didn't think too much into that statement myself; it wasn't a place I wanted to return to.

Apparently it sounded a little too much like I was speaking from experience (which I was) and Yamamoto seemed to begin to catch on. I tried to stop _that_ train of his thought, too.

"Besides," I shrugged nonchalantly, "now you know. There are people around you that worry enough to kick your ass if you ever try something like that again. Though you seem to realize it by this point, I won't be able to sleep well tonight if I don't tell you: ..." I looked him pointedly in the eye and, to his credit, he didn't look away this time.

"Whatever you were thinking up there... you were wrong."

His eyes seemed to widen for a fraction of a second, a myriad of emotions flickered in his honey-caramel colored eyes. Then he broke into a grin. It struck me how this smile seemed so much more genuine than ones I've seen him sport in the past. Comparitively, his usual smiles seem to be for the benefit of those around him - which was genuine enough in itself, I supposed - but this smile seemed to be just because he wanted to. Just for himself, this time, because he was happy,

"Yeah. I know that, now."

* * *

No later than three seconds after class was dismissed did Tsuna have Kaylin's bag in hand and the classroom behind him as he made his way to the infirmary. He was honestly surprised and concerned that neither Kaylin nor Yamamoto came back to class that day, even though it seemed like that's what was going to happen when Tsuna checked on them both at lunch.

He got to his destination faster than the crowds hit the halls, surprisingly, so he wasted no time in peeking around the door. He was surprised to see that his caution was unecessary, however, as Kaylin was already up and leaning against the cot, tapping her foot impatiently. He jumped a little when Kaylin's metallurgic eyes snapped up at the possible intrusion.

"Oh, Tsuna!" Her gaze instantaneously softened and she smiled. Tsuna opened the door completely and stepped in after hearing a rustling that he saw was Yamamoto standing from the seat he'd stationed himself at all day.

"Yo, Tsuna!" The athlete greeted cheerfully with a little wave.

The shortest teen trotted over to his friends with mild concern in his eyes and didn't bother with a greeting. "Are you two feeling better?"

Kaylin glanced sidelong at Yamamoto with a raised eyebrow, a silent question in her eyes as she crossed her arms. The boy in question blinked at her before grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of his neck with his good hand.

"Yeah," he confirmed.

The lone female nodded, satisfied. "Yeah," she echoed to Tsuna.

Tsuna smiled in relief before remembering what he had in his hands. He held Kaylin's bag out to her. Recognition lit the girl's eyes a second before something that looked like dread took its place.

**"Oh, god..."** she muttered in English, face having gone deathly pale. She reached for the bag with an almost shaking hand.

Yamamoto had tilted his head in question while Tsuna's brows scrunched up.

"What's wrong...?" The fuzzy one asked, suddenly wary.

"You should both back up for a minute," she warned instead of answering. Tsuna blinked in confusion but snapped to and heeded her, pulling Yamamoto with him by the sleeve.

"I don't know what's going on, but we should probably listen..." Tsuna told him with a look of dread of his own on his face.

Kaylin took a deep breath, bit her lip, squeezed one eye closed and took a ready position, hand hovering above the zipper of the bag, feet at a wide stance. The boys tensed in anticipation without really knowing why. That is, until Tsuna suddenly realized with a start what must have been in the bag.

Or should it be said "who?"

Had the poor thing been in that bag all day?!

Before he could say anything Kaylin ripped the zipper down and a blur of brown and gray shot out of the bag and zipped its way up the redhead's arm down the _front of her shirt._ The redhead yelped as an unknown bump zipped its way around her person and she had to slap a hand over her mouth to avoid unleashing what would undoubtedly be a scream loud enough to shatter glass and eardrums alike.

Kaylin almost immediately teared up as she struggled not to laugh like her life depended on it, cheeks already flushed a rather charming shade of pink. Her knees nearly buckled as she doubled over, and the boys could only gape at her shaking shoulders.

She stomped her foot as she had no choice but to cave.

"**I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry - **_ow ow OW!_ OW OW, HINA ST- my _ribs _**holy **_**shit - **_**I give, I give, I **_**said I was sorry **_**-" **Kaylin gasped and finally colapsed to her knees as the furry bundle of rodent shot out of her collar and onto her lap.

No one moved for a good five seconds before Kaylin shouted, **"I have never so much physically exerted myself in my entire **_**life**_**, you **_**twat!" **_The redheaded teen then proceeded to curse several times in three languages.

Of _course _she bothered to learn how to curse in Italian and Japanese.

Yamamoto suddenly burst out laughing while Tsuna only continued to gape.

And that was how Yamamoto met Hina.

* * *

**Extra: (Because my fuckin' muse bailed on me, gadammit)**

**Busted**

"Was that recklessness, or did you genuinely not know that that would happen?"

Reborn had cornered me after I got home from supper at Tsuna's. It's safe to assume that Nana was _not _informed of anything out of the ordinary happening that day. She would have mother hen'd me out of my damn mind, bless her. Reborn, on the other hand, had seen the entire thing, including me fainting like a sissy. Needless to say the "kid" wanted to know what the fuck happened back there.

"I _swear _to you that I had no idea that I'd use so much energy doing that." I plopped down at the kotatsu with two fresh mugs of coffee in my hands before sliding one over to Reborn, who immediately took a sip with a frown. I sighed and propped my head up with my hand under my chin. "**Fucking hell, **I'm exhausted," I muttered. "I didn't realize until how conservative I'm going to need to be with my energy. Although, in retrospect, I suppose it makes sense..."

Reborn took another sip of his esspresso. "I'd like to know why that happened," he simply stated.

I grimaced, not meeting his eyes and took a long gulp of scalding coffee. The baby noticed my hesitation.

"It might be important in the future, Kaylin. You have the potential to be a very important asset to Tsuna's family and I need to know your limits."

...Okay, fine. Fair enough.

Damn.

I sighed again and set down my coffee. "Like I said, I used up too much energy messing with the gravity like that - though I'm sure being physically strained for the first time in a couple years didn't freakin' help," I mumbled. I was ready to continue, but Reborn spoke up first.

"Is that what happened when you arrived at school when Gokudera confronted Tsuna?"

I stiffened and felt my eyes widen.

_Shit._

Don't panic. He's an ally, don't panic. Besides, you knew this would be brought up sooner or later...

"That -" My voice nearly cracked and I cleared my throat. "That...happens occasionally." I almost flinched as Reborn's frown turned into a scowl. "Okay, okay! Straight answers, sorry." Geez. I bit my lip and slapped my cheeks, trying to psyche myself up or something, I wasn't sure. "That day wasn't me running through too much energy. I over-exerted my lungs - " I patted my chest absent-mindedly. "I, um, I think they're a little raw or something." I shrugged self-consciously. "I've only been like this for a few months, and in that time I haven't really... been active, in any sense of the word. So, even I don't know what my new limits are."

Both Reborn and I took a sip of coffee, me squirming in my seat, Reborn silently contemplating, taking in the information I just presented him with. I imagine he had already guess much of this by now. He seemed to be thinking rather hard, which only made me even more nervous.

"For now," he broke the silence and made me jump. "For now, you should work on improving your stamina. Every day exercises for now."

I nodded cautiously. This guy...he's scheming something. There seemed to be a gleam in his eye - he's definitely scheming something. I swear, if he's planning on toying with my health...

...Of course not.

...Right?

...

Right?!

* * *

**A/N: So there's that. Heads up, guys: I don't want to be one of those authors that makes simply uploading on time their top priority - it might work for some, but certainly not for me. I want to put out quality work for you guys; and for myself. That said, two weeks or so is probably about how often you should expect me to upload. The maximum time I think I'll allow myself to spend on a chapter.**

**I'm still getting into the flow of this fic. Gokudera and Yamamoto are out of the way introduction-wise, and next is Lambo, I think. Maybe him and Bianchi both, I'm still finding a balance between the manga and anime being channeled here. Any advice or suggestions about ANYTHING to do with this fic would be more than welcome, I think. As I don't have a beta, and get virtually no feedback.**

**ANY SUGGESTIONS would be fantastic. Seriously.**

**guys pls**

**Oh, and thanks to the five people that have reviewed so far! I so, SO thank you for taking the time to review.**

**Just to rehash these awesome guys out:**

**QuirkyKit, RubyRedSpiderLily (who has a KHR fic of her own, I believe), Choco-Latte64, MsNi98, and Kaore Ryu! You guys are the shit!**

**Anyhoo!**

**again guys pls gimme some feedback**

**Ciaossu!**


	9. Some Animals and a Magic Trick

**Mutt: Like I said, last chapter was intense.**

**Goku: Keh.**

**Kei: Shut up, you weren't even there.**

**Goku: *twitch* YOU FU -**

**Yama: Maa, maa, don't fight, we just got started!**

**Goku: What the fuck are you doing here?!**

**Mutt: I invited him.**

**Kei: *grumbles* You invite everybody.**

**Mutt: It's my job. And it's always ****funner**** with more people!**

**Kei: "Funner?"**

**Mutt: Shut up.**

**Tsuna: Although it's a little crowded...**

**Goku: Juudaime!**

**Yama &amp; Kei: Yo, Tsuna!**

**Tsuna: H-hi...**

**Goku: DON'T BE SO FAMILIAR WITH JUUDAIME**

**Mutt: *DEEP SIGH* So it begins. Let's do the disclaimer before this becomes a warzone, yeah?**

**Disclaimer: I, the author, do not own KHR or blah blah, just the OC.**

**Tsuna: Again with the half-done disclaimer...**

**Yama: Ha ha ha! It's fun here!**

**Kei: More like NOISY.**

**Goku: THEN STOP SHOUTING**

**Kei: YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT'S SHOUTED, HERE**

**Mutt: *yells over other yells* OKAY ON WITH THE STORY BYE**

**Tsuna: HIIIIEE -**

***explosions***

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

I yawned as I locked up the apartment and pocketed the key. I squinted at the sunlight reflecting off a window of an old building across from my apartment complex and nearly missed the anomaly in the usually constant scene outside of my home. It wasn't anything much, but what it implied caught my attention.

I noticed a magazine had been seemingly delivered to the apartment neighboring mine to the left. It was strange because I _swore _that no one had even been living there just yesterday. Maybe it was a mistake?

I curiously picked up the magazine and examined the address on it. Apartment number 20 right next to my apartment number 19; it was the right place. I guessed I had a neighbor. I looked at the name, but as I quite shamefully had an extremely small list of kanji that I could read, I couldn't read the name. I had a niggling feeling that I'd seen the characters before...

I briefly thought of pulling out my little translator, but honestly I was running short on time. I shrugged and glanced at the title before tossing the magazine back in front of the door. _The Wonders and Mysteries of the World, _so said the small kana above the kanji (thank god). Huh.

I might have to borrow this later...

* * *

I met up with Tsuna as he was walking to school, since I had memorized his route - what? I walked with him to and from school a lot! He was a creature of habit.

Hina mentioned how she wanted a little more fresh air before napping in my school bag, so now she was nestled into Tsuna's hair, the poor kid. Although he didn't really seem to mind _that_ much since Hina tended to stick to one spot (at least while her humans were mobile).

We hadn't walked that far when Tsuna apparently remembered something.

"This weird kid came to my house yesterday!"

I frowned and quirked a brow. "Oh?"

His shoulders tensed and he looked at me desperately. My eyes widened as he spoke - well, ranted. "He came into my house and started attacking Reborn!"

I nearly tripped.

"He what?!"

"He said he was from the mafia!"

I wasn't even moving anymore and I nearly tripped again.

"He - wait, what?"

"The 'Bovino' family, he said...!"

Seriously?! "Couldn't he have been making things up?"

Tsuna pulled at his hair and looked like he was remembering something incredibly stressful. "I wish he was! He pulled out weapons - _real weapons! _\- and Reborn said he recognized the name of the family!" From the looks of it the kid was ready to start sobbing. "I just hope he's gone back to Italy already. Why does this have to happen to me?!"

I awkwardly patted his shoulder with a mildly concerned scowl on my face. "Well, it's not like he attacked _you_. So, at least you weren't targeted," I noted, trying to calm him somewhat. Didn't seem like it helped much, though. Still looked like he wanted to cry.

We walked a few more minutes, me lost in thought trying to recall any information about a "Bovino Famiglia," Tsuna sulking silently. It was a companionable silence.

Maybe I should call Jonny...? It might not have been very important, but I had my (brand-spankin' new) phone _right here_ -

"Who's that...?"

Tsuna's quiet inquiry distracted me from my musings and I looked at him, then looked at what Tsuna was blinking confusedly at. It was just a girl on a bike...albeit she was riding straight towards us. But, Tsuna stopped walking, so I did, too.

Oddly enough, the chick on the bike stopped, too.

When she took her helmet off, I'm pretty sure both Tsuna and I were struck by how freakin' pretty she was. Long hair tumbled out from under the helmet, which she placed on her lap. Her eyes flicked to me and she seemed to do a double-take, and I _swear_ her eyes narrowed for just a split second before she wiped away the expression and turned her gaze to Tsuna.

Only when she tossed the can in her hand to Tsuna did I notice it was there.

"You can have it, if you'd like," she simply said before riding off into the fucking sunset. Okay, it was still morning, whatever.

Tsuna yipped a little as he fumbled in catching the can of whatever and it tumbled to the ground, popping open from the pressure of impact.

"Ah-!" I fretted, hovering over Tsuna as he squatted to pick it up, the boy mumbling about how 'lame' that just was.

_Alert_

I immediately tensed.

Fumes -!

I yanked Tsuna backwards by his collar without thinking. The boy yelped and stumbled backwards, but managed to stay on his feet when I grabbed his arm to help keep him stabilized. I shoved my arm in front of him and took a step between him and the can, eyeing it like it was a snake poised to strike.

"K-Kaylin -?!"

I didn't have to explain my actions, though. A bird sitting on a streetlight above us did that for me when it dropped unconscious right in front of us.

"E-_Eh?!_" Tsuna immediately had his head in his hands, disturbing Hina from her nap.

The rat started and peeked out of Tsuna's hair.

_'Kaylin, I smell poison!'_

I relayed her findings to Tsuna. The poor kid spasmed once and seemed to freeze in fear. I grimaced for him while quietly surveying the area with my eyes. That woman was definitely gone now, but...

An attempt was just made on Tsuna's life.

"...Let's go, Tsuna." I grabbed his shirt sleeve and easily pulled him along with me down the street.

I'm gonna have to watch this kid like a fucking hawk.

Or like a hitman on duty.

* * *

What happened on the way to school was (somehow) forgotten (at least by Tsuna) when the two of us were glomped from behind just outside the school building.

"Yo, Tsuna, Kei-chan!"

Both Tsuna and I nearly tripped, and I had to hop a step to keep my balance (Hina was already safe in my school bag). I twitched somewhat violently but managed not to back hand the kid in the face on reflex. Yamamoto hooked us both around the shoulders and was grinning like an idiot (which was his normal grin, but that's okay).

"Oh - H-hi, Yamamoto," Tsuna greeted somewhat shyly. I smirked a little and was about to say hi as well when I just noticed (and pretended to be surprised about) the no-longer-broken arm draped across my neck.

"Your arm's better," I simply stated, blinking at the appendage in fake curiosity.

Yamamoto released us and showed off his newly-healed right arm by rolling his shoulder. "I went to the doctor yesterday to check up on it, and he said the cast could be removed! It's a medical miracle!" He told us proudly.

Tsuna looked pretty amazed while I only threw Yamamoto a toothy smile. I already knew why it had healed. I'm the one that did it, after all. I had told Yamamoto after school (the day of that incident on the roof) (don't you dare read into that, you know what I'm talking about, dammit) that it was an American custom to give a broken arm a fist bump for good luck. He grinned and obliged. And while it nearly made me freakin' faint again, I pumped some of my flames into his arm through the contact. While I wasn't entirely sure how well it would work, since he wasn't knowingly consenting to the action, I knew it couldn't actually hurt anything (except me), so I shot in the dark. Apparently it worked.

I honestly wanted to examine his arm myself, but... Yeah, that'd be weird. I settled for taking the doctor's word for it: that the arm was healed enough to be out of the cast.

"Kei-chan."

I blinked and realized that I had been zoning out for a second. I was about to make a "hm?" sound when I noticed Yamamoto holding a poised fist out in front of him, directed at me.

He saw my raised eyebrows and his grin widened. "The good luck thing worked, so I figured it would be a good thing to do once in a while."

"Oh," I said dumbly as Yamamoto wiggled his fist with an expectant excitement in his eyes. I blinked once more and hesitantly raised my fist to his. It was one thing when the action had practical purpose (though the boy didn't know it) - there was a reason for it. But this time it was just a fist bump. A gesture of camaraderie. Friendliness is one thing. Camaraderie is another.

Though I'd deny it like it was an insult to my ancestors, there might have been a tint of color on my cheeks at such a (to me) strange notion. Our knuckles touched, neither gentle nor rough. It made me feel pretty tomboyish, which was comfortingly familiar. I offhandedly noticed that Yamamoto's hands were bigger than mine. Well, quite a bit bigger, actually.

Freakin' dudes, man.

Yamamoto gave a cheerful laugh and whatever kind of moment that was passed without any more ado. All three of us resumed walking again, Yamamoto joking around with Tsuna, who - honestly? - looked truly happy right then.

A warm, tingling feeling fluttered to life somewhere behind my sternum, and a soft smile spread across my face.

Imagine that you were in a building all day - one with no windows - and you _know _it's warm and nice outside, but you're stuck in said building. Said building is just a _little _too chilly. Not chilly enough to make you shiver, but chilly enough to seep into your bones without you noticing, and before you know it you're all tense against the cold that you barely notice. And suddenly you get to _go outside_ and the sunlight just hits you.

And you stop. And you just turn your face up to the sky, eyes closed. And you soak up the warmth that you didn't even know you were craving. You stay there long enough that you can almost feel the delicate skin of your eyelids burn, but it feels _good. _Any chill is totally washed away. And you no longer even remember what it felt like inside the building.

That's the feeling that had just washed over me. And I wasn't sure why.

I realized that I was about to be left behind and shifted to jog the few steps that had come between us before I felt an instinctive tenseness tremble across my shoulders, stopping me before I did so much as lift my foot.

I turned on my heel in the direction where I sensed... hostility would be the best word. It wasn't full-on bloodlust - I'd know it if I felt it - but it was full of moderately bad vibes. There wasn't much of a crowd, so it was easy to scan the students in the vicinity and decide it wasn't from them - my eyes flitted up as I felt another wave of hostility and I then noticed, atop a walkway that I honestly hadn't noticed before was -

\- was that Gokudera?

Ah, shit, he was back?

We made eye-contact for the briefest of moments before he spun around and stalked off after -

Did that fucker just _"keh" _at me? Is that what he just did?! The fuck is his problem?

* * *

"So, to appease Gokudera, a family entrance test will be held for Yamamoto."

Oh, that was his problem.

I unbuttoned my school shirt and fanned some air around my torso by pulling the fabric back and forth, the air easily traveling through the fabric of one of the several plain tank tops I had in stock to wear underneath my uniform. It was summertime, now, so going outside always came with me contemplating on whether or not stripping was worth the danger of being discovered by a certain prefect and subsequently bitten to death.

As I don't have a death wish and try not to tempt fate...

I usually settle for simply loosening up my uniform.

Reborn had called Tsuna (the home tutor said I could come if I wanted) to the school pool after classes had been dismissed to talk about something. I shouldn't have been surprised that the school had a pool, I supposed, though I had been the first time I saw it. I had sat out of the swim lessons, though, with the excuse that I had allergies with some shit in pool water. Even if the appointed swimsuits were conservative, I had scars on my thighs that I wasn't about to let any of my classmates see. If they were normal-looking I could have talked them off, but these were...definitely not normal. Anyone could see that.

Even though I honestly liked to swim.

"A what?!" Tsuna exclaimed at Reborn's words, head in his hands for the second time today. Or was it the third? "Don't do that! I don't want you to drag Yamamoto into your freaky mafia world!"

I shifted on my feet and bit the inside of my lip.

"I agree with Tsuna, Reborn." My eyes flicked over to my (in name only) boss, who was looking desperately between Reborn and I. I reaffixed my attention onto the hitman, uncomfortable with looking Tsuna in the eye at the moment. "Yamamoto doesn't have any connections to the underworld - there's no reason for him to be drawn into this." While I was trying to keep my voice even, and I was sure that I was fooling Tsuna (though the boy probably noted it subconsciously), Reborn undoubtedly caught the hint of trepidation in my voice at the prospect of a civilian being tossed into such potential darkness.

Tsuna, though my heart nearly broke thinking about it, didn't have a choice at this point, whether he knew it or not. Gokudera already had kills under his belt, and while I was sure he was capable of living clean, he was choosing this life by now - choosing to stay by Tsuna's side. I... while I was choosing to stay with Tsuna, too, I wasn't really sure if I was able to live like a civilian now. No, not now.

But Yamamoto, he didn't have blood on his hands. He was still innocent of all of this. He didn't need to see the dirty part of this world. By average standards, the Vongola _were_ as good as mafia got, without a doubt. Despite that, though, mafia was mafia. Kills were kills. Death was death, and harm was harm. Trauma was trauma. Someone like Yamamoto didn't need to be -

"I've already had Gokudera call him out."

**"You **_**what?! **_**Son of a -"** I nearly stomped my foot. I swiveled my gaze to the now freaking out fuzzy Tsuna. "Tsuna, we need to -"

"We have to find them before Gokudera does something awful!" At that Tsuna turned on his heel and sprinted off and away from the pool area and I tore after him, quickly at his heels.

"Wait, Kaylin."

I skidded to a halt, nearly tripping in my urgency. I spun around with a desperate "what?" to see Reborn kicking lazily in the water, propelling himself closer to the edge of the pool. He deftly jumped out, retrieving a rubber ducky-shaped Leon and prompting the little reptile to shift into a fuzzy towel. He proceeded to remove his fedora and towel dry his hair while addressing me.

"There's something I'd like you to do for me," he simply stated.

My mouth parted for a moment without me making any sound before I incredulously repeated my earlier (very intelligent) inquiry.

"...What?"

"A suspicious person has made their way onto school grounds." I got a distinct feeling that he was being purposefully vague, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He continued, "I'll be busy for at least a little while, so I want you to find him."

My shoulders slumped in exasperation and I ran a hand through my loose fringe. "How suspicious are we talking, here?" My mind was already winding it's way through several worst-case scenarios involving exploding middle schoolers and a mass murder on school grounds.

"Who knows?" He answered noncommittally and I felt an irritated tic at my temple. "But you're not the type to leave any variables unknown," he reminded me as he efficiently redressed himself in his (admittedly nice-looking for being baby-sized) suit.

The tic faded and I was nearly bouncing on my feet in indecision, knowing that if I were going to take any kind of productive action it'd have to be very soon.

"Besides," the infant interrupted my thought process, "I'll be there to oversee things."

That tic made a speedy return as I nearly shouted, "That's part of the reason I'm _worried_!" I struggled not to curse at him.

Reborn began to pad over to the wall with a pout _(that's fucking fake, isn't it?!)_ on his face. "How mean, Kei-chan~"

I flushed a little at his use of that nickname. "You don't get to call me that!"

He ignored that and stepped into an opening in the wall that slid into existence with a whir while turning to face me. With mocking enthusiasm he chirped, "I'm counting on you~ Ciao~" With that sarcastic happiness he left without giving me anymore say in the matter.

...

**"**What the hell, Reborn?! **Fucking son of a - **_**piece of **_**\- **_**Cazzo**_**!"**

* * *

_**3rd person, Reborn**_

The infamous hitman Reborn glanced up in the direction of the school roof where he had left his student's first subordinate in a cursing fit - he even smirked a little as he heard some haphazardly strung together Italian thrown in the mix. He had learned that the girl's temper rivaled Gokudera's (or rather his rivaled hers) and while her metaphorical fuse was longer, the resulting outburst was that much more intense and difficult to calm.

Truthfully, there wasn't any kind of suspicious person on school grounds - that Reborn knew of, at least. He could be wrong. The point, though, was to distract her long enough to prevent her from throwing a fit about what he had planned - or at least delay it, which was the more likely outcome. She was turning out to be much more of a mother hen than he would have pegged her to be had he met her under different circumstances, considering her past apparent distaste for working with others.

He held back a tired sigh.

What a pain. Oh, well. Time to pl- work.

Reborn didn't bother to hold back the dark smirk that surely marked an ill fate for his hapless student. And sometimes his subordinates.

Mostly his student.

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

_"Ah. We passed it."_

I slowed my trot to a stop with a huff, giving the rat on my shoulder a dirty look. She couldn't really see it, I knew, but she no doubt felt the agitation through whatever connection it was that we shared.

_"What? We found them."_

I rolled my eyes but relented. She was right. I turned around and backtracked to a door that I had noticed was slightly ajar. If the unfamiliar scent stopped there, then he must have turned through one of these doors. I didn't need to check with Hina to figure out that whoever it was went through this particular exit to the outside of the building and onto the stairway.

I held my hand up to my shoulder for Hina to hop onto then stuffed her back into my pocket. Couldn't be too sure what kind of person this was, and if there was any kind of scuffle then I wanted Hina out of harms way - although if they were particularly dangerous Reborn would have told me. Probably.

I listened for a second - it was almost quiet, but I could hear shuffling on the other side. I leaned an ear closer to the door out of curiosity, and -

"_Gyahahahaha! _I found you, Reborn!"

I started and quickly pulled the sliding door farther open, and my immediate suspicion was confirmed and I raised an incredulous eyebrow as my jaw dropped a fraction.

"I'm Lambo of the Bovino family!" Announced the child I had found.

Wait, Bovino? I vaguely heard Tsuna shout like he knew the kid, then it suddenly hit me why the name sounded familiar.

"Are you the kid that caused trouble at Tsuna's house?"

* * *

_**3rd person, Reborn**_

Reborn glanced up at the noisy cow brat that made himself known and frowned to himself in mild surprise.

So there actually was someone strange on school grounds.

Though this idiot calf was more annoying than suspicious...

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

"Are you the kid that caused trouble at Tsuna's house?"

The kid jumped a little and spun to face me and immediately got defensive. "Lambo-san didn't cause trouble! He was a good boy and was only trying to kill Reborn! _Gyohahahaha! _Bow down to Lambo-san!" He proceeded to attempt a striking pose while laughing down at me - even though he was actually laughing up at me - definitely trying to save face.

With his afro and big green eyes (and cow-suit), all in all I couldn't decide if this was the most adorable or most annoying child on the planet - or at least currently in Japan. I was about to say something (what, I wasn't actually sure) when I heard a frightened _'HIIEE!'_ from the ground below. I dropped the thought and hurried over to the kid's side to lean over the concrete safety wall of the staircase with wide eyes.

"Tsuna, are yo - _**what the fuck, Reborn?!**_"

The baby hitman stopped shooting the _bowgun he was waving around _to look up at me and waited just a beat too long to _not _be suspicious sounding.

"Good job finding the suspicious person."

I felt a tic throb at my temple. "This suspicious person is like _five years old!"_

Yamamoto took this chance to throw me a cheerful wave. "Yo, Kei-chan!"

A sweat drop attempted to take over the tic as the kid's obliviousness threw me off. "Er, hi, Yamamoto -" I gave a distracted wave - "and _hey Reborn! _Why the fuck is Tsuna roughed up, too?!" I leaned even farther into the concrete while casting an accusatory glare at the baby, scraping my stomach up a little in the process.

Reborn didn't bother answering as Tsuna made an alarmed sound and pointed up in my direction.

"Kaylin! Rockets! _Rockets!_" I blinked in surprise as even Yamamoto looked somewhat nervous. I turned my head to the left to see what he was -

_Those are fucking __**missiles**__, Tsuna!_

I nearly lost my shit and wrapped an arm under the damn _missile launcher _that this _five year old _somehow pulled out from _fucking __**nowhere**_ and was now aiming at my boss and his friends. I yanked up a little harder than necessary and pointed the weapon at the sky just in time to send half a dozen missiles harmlessly away like they were fireworks.

The kid protested loudly and looked extremely alarmed himself when I yanked the thing out of his hands and tossed it lightly aside. I inadvertently sent him a harsh glare and he froze up, staring up at me with wide, scared eyes, which froze _me _up.

I exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of my nose. _He's just five, _I reminded myself, feeling somewhat guilty. _Just explain that it's wrong to point missile launchers at people, and he'll probably apologize and all will be we -_

"_Gyahahahaha! _You let your guard down!"

I jerked and only noticed that the kid had moved behind me to where I tossed the missile launcher after he had picked it back up and aimed it once more at the group of people below. Acting on instinct, I swung my foot back and struck the launcher with my heel, managing to at least throw the aim off. My breath caught in my throat, however, when I realized that I didn't throw the missiles off course enough and they exploded very near where Tsuna and Yamamoto were, along with what looked like dynamite and some other explosive.

My eyes went wide and I nearly leapt over the edge of the three-story high stair case until Yamamoto stumbled out with Tsuna's arm around his shoulder. They were beaten up a little, but safe!

Wasting no more time, the kid - Lambo - yelped as I tucked him under my arm and took the first flight of stairs down three at a time before getting impatient and leaping over the edge of the last flight half-way from the bottom. I skipped a little when I landed on my foot funny, but brushed it off, adrenaline masking the pain at the moment.

I hurried over to Tsuna, while Gokudera stalked over towards Yamamoto. Tsuna was standing on his own, thank fuck, and looked surprised to see me at his side so quickly. I gave Tsuna a twice-over despite his assurances that he was fine. Tsuna's (probably non-existent, in retrospect) injuries were saved from further scrutiny when we were both distracted by a sudden exchange between the other two teenagers.

Gokudera grabbed the collar of the taller boy, and I tensed, having half a mind to intervene, but at the next words, I blinked and furrowed my brow in mild intrigue.

"Good job."

Tsuna and I exchanged a glance before Gokudera continued, "You protected Juudaime, so I have no choice but to accept you into the family."

I blinked again and completely relaxed my stance (still holding the kid, who still hadn't moved by this point) with a mildly relieved smile on my face. I'll be damned.

"But the Juudaime's right hand is me. You can be the shoulder blade."

...What.

At that point Yamamoto began laughing and slung an arm around Gokudera's shoulder in the brotherly-affectionate kind of gesture I'd come to know that he was fond of doing. Lambo chose that moment to begin flailing and, a little alarmed, I held him out in front of me, arms moving with the force of his struggles.

"Will you hold still?"

"Lambo-san won't hold still!"

"...won't withdraw from being Tsuna's right hand, so you'll be the earlobe."

_The what?_

"Hold still, Lambo!"

"The fuck?! Then you're nose hair!"

"Then you're snot!"

Gokudera twitched violently and the bickering continued while Lambo got more and more restless, Tsuna looking back and forth between the different brands of ruckus, not knowing what to do with either.

My grip on Lambo holding fast, I watched the two squabbling teens in dismay.

"Why did he have to say that?! Gokudera was satisfied!" I nearly stomped my foot.

Tsuna laughed half-heartedly. "Well, in a way they're sort of getting along..."

Understanding his point, I still huffed, "I don't understand male bonding - **holy **_**shit**_**, **Lambo, stop squirming!"

"No!"

"Do you want candy?! I'll give you candy if you calm down!"

His squirming immediately halted, and I held my breath in hope. Tsuna straightened in surprise.

Lambo put a finger to his mouth and eyed me uncertainly.

"...Really?"

My jaw almost dropped as I stared at the five year old's face. The pout, the big eyes, the afro - dear god this child was adorable when he wasn't being obnoxious.

I fought the grin that tried to break out onto my face, ignoring Tsuna's sweatdrop at Lambo's and my sudden change in behavior towards each other. I nodded at the kid, biting the inside of my cheek. Maternal instincts _hurt so bad._

At the affirmation, Lambo relaxed and held out his hand to me expectantly, though his expression didn't show complete comfort with me. I heard Tsuna mutter "It worked..." in disbelief and I stopped fighting the smile that I had been holding back.

"I never thought you'd be good with kids..." Tsuna mumbled, likely remembering the...ahem, temper that I had displayed in the past.

My smile widened and I held the pacified Lambo out to Tsuna, who tilted his head at me, but took him anyways.

"I'll go get our bags from the classroom -" I made eye contact with the kid in Tsuna's arms, "- I've got candy in there, and I'll only be a minute, so behave until I get back and you'll get an extra piece of candy, okay?" Lambo blinked owlishly at me, finger still in his mouth, and nodded. Tsuna stared in shock. I snickered once, then waved at Tsuna while I began to jog in the direction of the school building and our classroom. "I'll be back in a minute or two, so go wait at the front gate for a bit, okay?"

Tsuna shook himself out of his daze and nodded. "Y-yeah..."

* * *

_**3rd person, omniscient**_

After much debate, Kaylin retrieved her, Tsuna's, _and _Gokudera's school bags. Just because he was an immature twat didn't mean she should be, too, she thought.

After retrieving said bags, she trotted out of the school building, braid flopping about behind her, and over to her small famiglia waiting for her at the gate. She wouldn't admit it, but the thought that people would bother to wait for her (even though she was getting their stuff, anyways) made her...quite happy. She bit her lip and smiled to herself.

Closing the distance to the gate, she blinked in confusion upon noticing someone missing.

"Yamamoto left?" She inquired before holding Tsuna's bag out him.

Her fuzzy boss-in-denial gave a small smile at her presence as he accepted the bag before answering. "Nn. He left for club practice."

"Ah," she easily accepted the information. She shifted her glance over to Gokudera, who was standing to Tsuna's side with his arms crossed, scowling at the unwelcome presence (to him) of the redhead. Kaylin met his scowl with a lighter one of her own. A paper-thin tension built up between the two. Tsuna noticed and tensed somewhat, but sighed in relief when his female friend rolled her eyes, diffusing the situation, and tossed Gokudera's bag to him, who caught it easily with a raised eyebrow.

"Here," she simply said.

The boy suspiciously narrowed his frosted-green eyes at her with suspicion, but simply held the bag casually over his shoulder with a "keh."

"I was just gonna leave it there."

Kaylin shrugged off his lack of gratefulness. "Yeah, well, I got it anyways."

At that moment Lambo, who had previously jumped onto the top of the wall surrounding the school via jumping off of Tsuna's head (to Gokudera's severe disgruntlement), tackled Kaylin with little effect.

"Candy!"

Gokudera twitched at the child's loud voice, but Kaylin merely blinked amusedly at the impact and snorted.

"Alright, alright." She dug through her school bag, tongue between her teeth. The girl gave a triumphant 'hah!' and held up a sucker proudly. Lambo didn't waste a second in snatching it from her grasp and prancing away from her. He tore the wrapper off and popped the candy in his mouth before turning once more to his new-found candy supplier and sticking his hand out.

"Lambo was a good boy, so give me another!"

One could almost hear the metaphorical snap from Gokudera as he raised a fist in anger. "You didn't behave at all, you stupid brat!"

Despite Lambo making a face at the silverette and scampering over to Kaylin and clutching her pantleg in defence, Tsuna made placating gestures to his short-tempered friend with a nervous laugh, urging him not to lose his temper.

_Only _for the sake of his Juudaime did Gokudera reluctantly stomped down his aggravation. Lambo, however couldn't help but push his luck and make another face at his aggressor before promptly screaming in alarm and running _away_ from one of his only lines of defence (Kaylin), Gokudera storming after him, shouting obscenities. Tsuna fretted and Kaylin shouted after him. The group made a procession towards the Sawada household, chasing down both Lambo and Tsuna's self-proclaimed right-hand man.

Reborn watched on with a satisfied smirk from the rooftop of a randomly selected building before making his own way towards his temporary home, looking forward to some of Maman's cooking.

He paused, however, when he noticed a figure shadowing his group of students. Taking a second to place the person, his smirk returned when he recognized it.

_'Another interesting one makes an appearance.'_

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

_Hot._

I lay face down on the roof of the school building, arms and legs splayed out around me in an attempt to avoid the accumulation of excess body heat. The Japanese sun beat down, and I'm sure if one were to look at any asphalt they would see the heat coming off in waves, reminiscent of my Flame of Nil. Most living things sought shelter from the heat; I even made a little tent for Hina so she could be out of the sun.

I wanted to be inside.

...Why wasn't I inside, again?

"Here's the food!"

I peeled my face off of the ground and strained my neck to look up at Yamamoto holding several cartons of milk, a couple of sandwiches, and a bunch of packages of melon bread in his arms, one of which he dangled between his fingers like he was coaxing me to sit up.

...Oh, right.

I had been minding my own business, getting ready to make a trip to the school store, grab my lunch, and sit back in my seat and eat in peace like the loner I was turning out to be in school. Which was fine - I was used to it.

But no sooner had I sat up from, ahem, resting my eyes during...whatever lesson I had fell as- begun my rest, I was effectively cornered by one of the only students that was taller than me - none other than our very own Yamamoto. Although I didn't really believe that there were many students or even faculty members that would corner me like that. It didn't take a genius to figure out that most were scared of me.

I didn't know _why. _I didn't put any effort into any kind of "fuck off" vibe like Gokudera did (okay, his attitude could very well have been natural and effortless) and _he _had a damn fan club.

_A fan club._

Who the hell has time for something like that?!

Oh, right. Middle schoolers. Pardon me.

Fucking hell.

"Come with us and eat lunch on the roof, Kei-chan!"

I blinked and scrunched up my brows, still in a bit of a daze from my nap - rest. _It was a deep rest._

As eloquently as I was capable of putting it at the moment, I questioned, "...Huh?"

Yamamoto laughed his trademark laugh, like I was being _so silly. _"Come eat lunch with us!" He repeated, eyes sparkling, teeth sparkling - hell, I was half-expecting him to start doing a Kyoko/Nana sparkle thing.

Finally waking up enough to think (fine, I was napping) I blinked, what he insisted upon actually registering. "O...kay..." I mumbled. I slowly stood up and stretched, popping my back and neck. Before I could even consider stifling it, a yawn escaped my throat and I had to cover my mouth.

The boy next to me laughed again, "So you _were_ sleeping."

I blearily nodded, "Nn." I snagged the Hina-inhabited school bag from the convenient desk-hook what-the-fuck-ever it was and started across the room to where Tsuna and Gokudera were waiting by the door, the later giving a "keh" upon realizing that I was, indeed, coming, too. I considered rolling my eyes but couldn't be bothered with the effort.

"Didn't bring any lunch?" Yamamoto asked curiously. I could almost _hear _him tilt his head like a confused puppy.

"Nn," I confirmed.

He, again, laughed. "You really must have been tired."

"Nn."

I generally didn't pay my classmates much mind, but I did notice just a handful of sour looks, particularly those of a rather small group of four or five girls across the hall, as we exited the classroom. When they noticed me give them a mildly curious look, they quickly hid their expressions and continued chattering amongst themselves.

I sighed internally. I wasn't concerned in the least, but tucked that away somewhere in the messy recesses of my brain, as it seemed to concern me. They looked around my age, so they were likely upperclassmen, perhaps third years. The back of my mind prickled with a nagging of intuition, but I ignored it.

It's time for _food_.

After that, Yamamoto, being the uber-tastically nice guy that he apparently was, offered to grab lunch for me while he grabbed a sandwich of his own, mentioning that he was too hungry for a box of sushi to fill him up. With that, the family sans baseball nut went up to the roof.

The obnoxiously hot (not actually that bad) roof.

And there I was. Joy.

I flopped over onto my back with an overdramatic groan and kicked my legs while locking my core for an easy sit-up motion. As I did that Yamamoto easily folded his legs beneath him and took a seated position between Tsuna and I and across from Gokudera, thus making our family triangle a family square. Or, "quadrilateral," as Hina's book-tent says.

_You _make a square with a bunch of butts and lunch food, see how you manage.

Geez.

I held my palms open towards Yamamoto. "Toss it."

He obliged and lobbed over my melon bread (three packages) and milk (two cartons) one after the other, which I caught easily tossing each item from one hand to the other and setting each on the ground like a factory line. I held onto one carton of milk, however, and snatched my braid off of my neck and held the cold thing to the skin, sighing in sweet, sweet bliss.

There was a collective sweatdrop.

Satisfied, I set the milk down, and everyone began working on their food. I had barely even had my melon bread to my mouth before I felt a wave of alarm from Hina.

_"Kaylin, I smell poison!"_

I stiffened and immediately went on alert. My mind immediately conjured up an image of what happened yesterday morning and my eyes flew to Tsuna, and widened when I noticed familiar fumes coming from his _freaking lunch box._

"Woah, woah, Tsuna!" He stopped his movements and jumped in surprise when I yanked the bento from his hands and tossed it away from the group.

Yamamoto blinked in surprise, Tsuna looked extremely alarmed, and Gokudera looked like he was about to strangle me.

"What the hell are y -" He stopped before he even started once his eyes landed on Tsuna's discarded lunch, the lid having fallen off. His eyes widened and his face paled significantly, so much so that he looked positively haunted.

"Th-that's..." He was nearly at a loss for words, and my guard only flew higher; I prepared to jump to my feet in a split second if need be.

"Wha -?!" Tsuna cried, looking horrified. The lunch he was about to eat was now clearly fuming and shockingly purple, and I think I saw something _moving _in that glop of whatever.

What.

I quickly shook myself out of my gawking (seriously, what the fuck?) and turned sharply to Gokudera and urgently demanded, "You know what the hell that is?"

He clearly had _some inkling_ because he looked for all the world like he was about to pass out, yet he didn't say anything and continued to stare at whatever disasterpiece and possible life form was in Tsuna's definitely-going-to-be-burned-later lunch box.

_Sorry, Maman, but that thing's done for._

I'd buy him a new one.

"It's a good thing she didn't let you eat that, Tsuna."

Tsuna jumped, I tensed, Gokudera...did nothing different, and Yamamoto simply looked on in interest - I had a feeling that he didn't quite know what was going on - at Reborn's sudden appearance - from the raised roof of one of the entrance into the building (rather, exit onto the roof).

"One bite'll send you straight to heaven."

I tensed further at his warning while poor Tsuna jerked his gaze up to look at the baby in the rough direction above his head, looking almost exasperated already with his tutor's crypticness.

"Reborn!"

Said infant brushed off Tsuna's alarm and turned slightly in the direction of the door below him, calling out calmly but with clear authority, "Come out. I know you're there, Bianchi."

Have I heard that name somewhere before...? Rather than that, she was here right now? And I didn't realize?

Coming to my senses, I quickly scooped up Hina, who had been very still under the book, and stuffed her into my pocket - she didn't protest a bit.

There was the shortest of pauses before the second rooftop door on the other side of the school's own rooftop sanctuary slowly swung open. I recognized the young woman in a split second and, in retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised.

I think it caught us all off-guard when the choked voice of Gokudera wobbled to our ears as the usually tough as nails and street-roughened boy collapsed to his knees, clutching arms around his abdomen like he'd just been harshly struck.

"A-aneki...!"

...

_That, _however, I was surprised about.

The three able-bodied middle schoolers on the roof got to their feet, including me, (though I think Yamamoto just stood because he felt like he should) and state of the boy caught me by surprise so much that the possible gravity of the situation was lost for a second and I swear I almost snorted in disbelief.

Tsuna gave an exclamation of astonishment ("Ane - sister?!") while my head swiveled back and forth as I looked between the _apparent _siblings like I was watching a rather intense match of ping pong, blinking just as rapidly. The girl began to stroll across the rooftop, closing the distance, and as she got closer, now that they were nearly side-by-side, I could actually begin to see a resemblance.

The shape of the eyes is similar, as well as the nose, and while their mouths were different, the jawline was close to the same. Bianchi had a wider forehead, but the brows seemed a close match, too. Not to mention they were both the same kind of good-looking (although I'd sooner shank somebody than tell Gokudera that...not that it wouldn't probably be hilarious - I got the distinct impression that he was actually rather innocent with such matters). Their coloring was nothing alike, however. Maybe me knowing of the different mothers beforehand influenced what I noticed, though.

"It's been a while, Hayato," the older girl casually addressed her...little brother. Huh.

"Ciaossu, Bianchi," Reborn finally greeted properly.

Gokudera's sister, Bianchi... again it struck me how I _must _have heard that name before... When I gathered information on Gokudera when he first got here, I learned that he had a sister, but I don't recall a name... Then why was it familiar?

I was snapped out of my musing by a particularly...girly sound from "Bianchi."

"_Reborn!_" She practically sang. I could feel a sweat drop forming as she suddenly went full swing into... lovey-dovey mode? She began to try and appeal to him to go back to Italy with her and work dangerous jobs like they had in the past.

...What.

I think my eyebrows had shot into my hair.

"I told you, Bianchi, I have a responsibility to raise Tsuna."

The strange girl immediately (and dramatically) despaired, holding her face with. "Oh, poor Reborn~!" She pointed a finger accusingly at Tsuna, who stiffened. "At this rate, if the Vongola Tenth doesn't die in some kind of horrible accident, Reborn will never be free!"

Tsuna cried, _"Eh?!"_

I instinctively scooted a little closer to Tsuna, who I had moved next to once Bianchi had begun to make her way over to us. Said young woman noticed, her gaze shifted to me for a second, and she suddenly looked calculating as our gazes momentarily locked. For an instant, I felt adrenaline shoot through my circulatory system, but a raised guard was apparently not necessary; Bianchi seemed to come to a momentarily non-confrontational conclusion as she turned around and took a few steps away from us.

I _almost _relaxed until she said something somewhat outrageous with a straight, albeit almost heartbroken, face:

"Then I'll wait. Once I kill th - I mean, if the Tenth dies, I'll come bring you back..."

And with that, Bianchi finally left the way she came.

A momentary silence wafted over the five of us remaining on the roof of the school building. I stared after Gokudera's sister with a small sense of apprehension. She...knew something about me. At the very least, she could tell that I had been...involved in a darker side of the underworld... She came from Gokudera's family, so she must have been exposed to the mafia herself. The way she easily talked about death, and the poison.

She had to be -

My train of thought was thoroughly interrupted by the cheerful voice of Yamamoto and his ever keen observational skills.

"Gokudera's sister is pretty, huh?"

I almost snorted again. That was sort of unexpected. I agreed with him, of course - Bianchi really was quite good-looking - it may have irritated me had I been a lesser person, in fact. I honestly just didn't think Yamamoto noticed things like how pretty a girl was. At least, he didn't mention it. There was an entire fan club that I had a feeling would fawn over him if he let them.

Hm... But then again, I didn't _actually_ know him that well. Hell, maybe he stared at girls all the time when nobody was looking.

...Of course not, right?

But then _again,_ he's pulled puppy dog eyes on _me_ before - who knew what other nefarious things he was capable of untruth that innocent, happy-go-lucky, nice-guy exterior?!

My thought process was interrupted _again_, though this time by...well, rather pathetic sounding groans from my left and towards the -

Oh. I forgot about Gokudera for a minute. He was on his knees, but by now he was doubled over, holding his stomach with one hand while supporting himself with his free forearm.

...Oh. That was actually rather alarming.

* * *

"Huh. Looks like the nurse isn't here," Yamamoto noted after we had finally gotten the apparently somewhat significantly ill Gokudera into a cot at the nurse's office. It was a pretty unanimous decision that the poor kid needed to rest in the infirmary, and Yamamoto, being the strongest of everyone present, opted to help Gokudera limp through the school building. (Somehow we didn't run into anybody.) The silverette didn't even have any strength left to bitch about it. Damn, dude.

Nice-guy Yamamoto then jogged out of the room, having offered to go find the nurse while Tsuna, Reborn and I stayed to uselessly hover around the bedridden grump. There were only so many places the nurse could likely be, so I didn't bother to help look. Also, I was lazy.

Still rather concerned, Tsuna jumped right into the questions, which I listened closely to. "Reborn, what's all this about Gokudera-kun's sister? And what's with the poison food?!" My fuzzy boss's eyebrows were furrowed and he was starting to get twitchy again. I'd have liked to comfort him, but I didn't have any more answers than he did. Luckily, though, Reborn didn't beat around the bush with any cryptic bullshit this time.

"She's called Poison Scorpion (_Doku Sasori_) Bianchi; she's a freelance hitman."

And _then _I remembered.

**"Holy shit!"** I gasped, eyes wide in realization. **"No wonder!"** I even slapped my forehead the realization hit me so hard. Tsuna looked at me in question, no doubt confused at my sudden use of English, while Reborn tilted his fedora up to regard me clearly.

"You know of her?" The baby inquired.

I nodded, running my hands through my loose fringe, pulling the blood-colored strands away from my forehead, honestly kind of miffed with myself.

"I _thought _the name sounded familiar - I'm surprised I even forgot. "Poison Scorpion" is a pretty well-known name among freelance hitmen, even in America."

Tsuna, bless his skiddish heart, looked both surprised and worried, eyebrows scrunching up even further.

"If I remember..." It had been a while since I was on the field, after all. "...though at this point it's pretty clear, she fights with poisoned food. Not just with covert operations, either," I wracked my brain, "but she's apparently been known to come out of kind of rough fights and the like with barely a scratch on her."

I finished and blinked when I noticed Tsuna's expression as he looked at me, and my stomach dropped an inch. He looked a little pale, and... just a little...wary?

My expression must have changed to reflect my concerns, and he snapped out of whatever that was and waved his hands in front of his face, a little flustered looking.

"I-I just - I forget that you...really are mafia, sometimes, that's all! I-I really should be used to it by now...heh..." He trailed off and laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his fuzzy head, peering up at me guiltily.

I bit the inside of my cheek. He didn't seem nervous, now, at least... Maybe...hopefully it was just a momentary thing.

I'd...really, really hate it if my...friend...was scared of me.

I didn't notice that Reborn was eying me funny. He elaborated upon my limited knowledge some, getting back to the topic at hand (which I was somewhat grateful for), "You didn't leave much out of the explanation, except the name of her special skill - that being 'Poison Cooking.'"

I gave a half-nod. Name fits, at least.

I was a little surprised when Gokudera finally managed to speak up, recovering from whatever the hell happened enough to talk.

"I'm sorry, Juudaime, that you have to see me in such a pitiful state." _Is this fucker ignoring me?!_ "This happens...every time I see my sister's face..."

I blinked, frowning. The hell?

Tsuna seemed to be thinking the same thing when he pressed, leaning forward, "What do you mean?"

Gokudera gave a small sigh and stared at the ceiling for a moment, as if dreading his answer. He cringed a little as he spoke.

"It happened when I was six. I had a piano recital at the castle."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tsuna jerk in surprise. I could just sense a small inner monologue and see his expression morph into sheer shock at his own thoughts and I had to repress a snicker. I'd forgotten that Tsuna didn't know about Gokudera's background.

"That was when my sister made me cookies..." Geez, it seems like his will to live just shriveled up a little. "...And I realized that she has the ability to turn anything she cooks into poison..." He grimaced at the memory. Hell, even I grimaced a little. He sighed once more. "Needless to say, the recital was a disaster. But, for whatever reason, the crowd loved it, and our father had my sister bake me cookies for each recital."

His eyes refocused as he came back to the present. "That trauma somehow imprinted itself onto me, and now every time I see her face, I'm incapacitated with horrible stomach cramps..."

...So _that's _what my information meant by "avante garde." I clamped my jaw shut to suppress a laugh. Tsuna, on the other hand, thought the whole thing was less funny than I did, and cried in disbelief, "What kind of tragedy is that?!"

I had to admit, I felt kind of sorry for Gokudera, despite how hard I was biting my thumb trying not to look too amused. Poor kid can't even look at his big sister without being freakin' bedridden.

"Kaylin."

I blinked when Reborn suddenly piped up. I straightened when I saw him looking at me in what appeared to be curiosity.

"It isn't particularly important," he began, and I tilted my head, thumb still between my teeth. "But do you think you can fix him?"

I blinked twice. What... **"Oh. **_**Oh!**_**" **I smacked a fist into the palm of my other hand. That honestly hadn't even crossed my mind. Gokudera was now eying me suspiciously, and Tsuna was blinking back and forth between Reborn and I, looking thoroughly confused.

"Fix him?" Tsuna questioned.

"Nn..." I nodded slowly, considering the possibility. I scrunched up my brows in thought, eyes glazed over as I stared at the wall with my head tilted. "It depends on what the problem actually is, here." I gave Gokudera's abdomen a critical eye, as if I could actually see and assess the situation if I glared hard enough. "If it were an actual wound or abrasion, or even an irritation, I could fix, or at least alleviate whatever's happening. However, if the issue is psychological in nature then there's nothing I can do."

"Hold on - " the teen in question tried to struggle to a sitting position, only managing to lean up on his elbows. " - I don't need any of your _help,_" he practically growled. Or spat. I couldn't really decide which. Despite the small - but undeniably there - amount of venom in he words, I only rolled my eyes, crossing my arms and shifting my weight to one leg - a pretty universal stance that can mean many things. In this case it had an "are you seriously giving me attitude, right now?" kind of vibe.

"Maa, don't say that just yet~" Reborn chided. All three of us gave him a funny look. "What do you think, Tsuna?" He inquired - more like prodded.

Tsuna looked thoughtfully from me to Gokudera, still seemingly confused. "Well, I don't really get what's going on, but... if she can help, don't you think you should let her...?"

I saw Reborn smirk, and I had to hold back one of my own. Just what he intended him to say, the manipulative brat. _You just want to see what happens, don't you?_ To my mild surprise, his smirk widened a fraction and I swear there was a mildly concerning gleam in his eye. I felt a trickle of sweat at my temple at the thought of Reborn possibly reading my mind...

No...right?

Gokudera, on the other hand, deflated at Tsuna's concerned stare. He grumbled, "...If Juudaime says so, then..." He flopped backwards, looking like he exerted himself a little just by propping himself up. He reafixed a suspicious glare at me, though.

"It's nice that you're being compliant, but I still don't know if I can help." I tugged on my braid, pulling it over my shoulder. "Like I said, it depends on the nature of the...affliction." Good word, I decided.

Reborn hummed in thought, a little hand on his chubby chin (disarming little shit) and we all turned to him in question. "Well, it's not like we can open him up and find out, not without considerable blood loss, at least." Gokudera and Tsuna both paled a little, knowing how Reborn's...personality was. The hitman seemed to consider for another moment, a plethora of thoughts likely filtering in and out of his mind, before he looked up at me. "Could you try it, anyways?"

I squinted at him. "...You really _do _just want to see what happens, don't you?"

The male teens both deadpanned at Reborn while the infant's personality apparently transformed. "How rude! I'm only worried about the health of a sick person, Kei-chan~"

_Twitch._

"I told you that you aren't allowed to call me that!"

He fake pouted. "But, but, lots of people do!"

"Only, like, three people! And they do it without my consent, too! _And Maman's an exception._" I ground out, somehow knowing where he'd go next. Then I blinked, realizing that I'd called Nana "Maman" again, and I flushed a little before crossing my arms and glaring at a wall.

Tsuna and Gokudera both kept their deadpan expressions throughout the exchange.

"You don't have a lot of experience in healing people, Kaylin, and it'd be good for both of us to have a more solid concept of your capabilities. The best way to do that would be observation and experience," Reborn pointed out, sounding rather convincing with his rationale.

Well, it wasn't like I was reluctant to try to help Gokudera - we were family now, after all, whether we acted like it or not. I didn't actually need convincing, but Reborn does make a valid point. So far, my days with Tsuna's Vongola Famiglia had been...relaxed. More or less. Reborn knew that wouldn't last, and seemed to realize that I knew that, too. He accepted that I would be an asset to the family, but he wanted to know, specifically, how. He seemed to be a meticulous planner - he's not the world's best hitman for nothing.

"Besides," he added, "this subject will come up sooner or later. It may as well be today."

I glanced at Tsuna. He was looking back and forth between Reborn and I again, likely getting frustrated that we were talking like no one else was listening or out of the loop. Gokudera was still scowling at me. It was well hidden, but he was rather tense now, and he had a calculating look in his eyes. Actually it was much like his sister's had been on the roof. I bit the inside of my cheek.

He didn't trust me.

...Which was fair enough, I supposed.

"Then, after school. If there's anything to heal, it'll still be there in a few hours. And then I'll have time to properly explain...things." _To an extent,_ I mentally added.

To help add to my point, it was then that the nurse returned, informing us that he had already sent Yamamoto back to class, and proceeded to do the same to us. Not very surprising, Reborn had already disappeared, not wanting to bother with the nurse questioning his presence, I imagined.

* * *

So, I forgot about the cake.

Oh, what cake, you ask?

Why, the cake that the students of the Japanese equivalent of home economics class (my class, specifically) intended to make today. And while in the spoken sense it was a "you can give your cakes to the classmates who elected the other course (business psychology or some shit) if you want" kind of thing, it was _actually_ a "you girls training to become the best housewives you can be are going to give your cakes to the boys who are training to work themselves to death because your hard work is clearly to benefit and impress the opposite sex, rather than yourselves."

...Okay, maybe I had let the American feminism fly along to Japan with me. Honestly, I was still adjusting to the new culture - I probably wouldn't get completely used to it.

I should note that the home ec. class was entirely elective, as was whatever the majority of the boys were taking.

One may inquire as to why I chose to go along with the social norms despite my American upbringing and (apparently) ingrained-into-my-brain feminist mindset. Honestly, it almost killed me. I won't go into details - nobody wants to hear that drivel. But I will answer the question: I refrained from being spiteful and chose the "feminine" class because I couldn't cook for shit and legitimately needed some guidance.

It's not that I was naturally awful at cooking - as I learned today, it wasn't particularly hard if you don't rush and don't try to guess measurements when you _very well_ _know_ that you don't know how to eye how much a tablespoon is in the palm of your hand - no, I just never got the chance to learn how.

I needed to fend for myself beginning at a young age, so I was always busy going on jobs, training myself, or spending as little time preparing meals/eating as possible so I could get some well-needed and well-deserved fucking shut-eye. And, honestly, that lifestyle worked for years, and while it crossed my mind occasionally that I could change that if I wanted, I never felt secure enough to try and alter my...ways.

But here I was now, involved with the next generation of the Vongola famiglia. It was about time for me to learn to live a little more along the lines of how polite society sees fit. About time to live clean.

...Ish. Mafia is still mafia, after all, but whatever.

As I was late for class, I was also late in having my cake done, so all of my female classmates had already taken their cakes back to the classroom to share, and I was left to my own devices, given that I would hurry to join the rest of the students as soon as I was ready. Which I almost was.

Everyone had made little round cakes, half of which we could give to our classmates, the other half we were free to do what we wanted with. Most opted to take theirs home.

Me?

Nobody eats my cake but me. _My cake._

Speaking of my cake...

I stared down at my freshly-iced culinary creation...

...Well, surely it's at least palatable. I mean, it looked fine until I iced it, so whatever.

I slapped some strawberries on that thing, cut it into quarters, plopped two pieces on a plate, set the other two away until after school, snagged a fork, and skipped into the hallway and away to class. I even found myself humming. I mean, dude. I got me some cake.

* * *

_**3rd person, omniscient**_

Kaylin wasn't humming loud enough, however, to drown out the clamor that was coming from the classroom she was intending to enter. She frowned and furrowed her brows as she walked closer, wondering what the hell could be happening. Was getting cake really that exciting?

She rounded around the doorframe and blinked at the crowd of girls near the door.

**"The hell...?"** She muttered under her breath as she made my way (as gently as she could) through the girls, who she noticed were rather alarmed and angry. She could see over the heads of every girl, so she could just noticed something fuzzy stampeding around and between the them. And by that point Kaylin's guard was up, so when she pushed through the last line of middle-school-girl-defense and was confronted with - what, a half-naked, tiny ogre? - barreling towards her, arms outstretched, she swung her leg up planted the ball of her foot onto the bare chest of -

"Tsuna?!" Kaylin was holding her cake out away from the boxer-clad ogre that was definitely Tsuna while keeping him back with her foot. She was extremely alarmed and didn't quite know what was going on or what to do - and since when was he this strong?!

"Sawada's eaten all the cake!" Some dude yelled out, obviously angry.

"Give me the cake!" Tsuna nearly roared in his sort of disarming fuzzy voice that was very oddly fierce at the moment.

"No!" Kaylin cried, a bead of sweat at her temple from the strain of trying to to hold the cake farther away from the rampaging 13 year old. "You've had enough cake!"

"Cake!" He repeated, pushing forward more. The redhead was nearly knocked backward, so she had to quickly swing her foot back down and deftly spin around Tsuna, who immediately charged forwards, keeping her body between him and the cake. With his ferocity, though, he couldn't turn very well, anyways, so he only managed to clumsily sprint past her before stumbling to his knees on the ground. Just in time, his dying will flame fizzled out, and he returned to the normal, somewhat meek Tsuna everybody knew.

Kaylin clutched her plate like it was a kitten in need and blinked rapidly down at Tsuna with wide eyes, heart hammering. What the hell was that?! Tsuna jerked out of his momentary daze and spun around to face the wrath of his classmates (more importantly the male ones who had the cake they were going to eat stolen) and Kaylin scrambled a step back like he might change his mind and somehow maul her.

"D-did I eat all the cake...?" He trailed off at the furious and supremely disappointed looks of most of the males in the room and looked like he was about ready to bolt.

The boys growled, "_Sawada..._" like _they _were about to maul someone and suddenly our redhead was a little worried for Tsuna.

Before the newly formed mob could actually act, however, they (including the girls) were startled into inaction by a small explosion in the hallway, very near the door. Those who weren't already facing the door turned to look and were met with a very lazy-looking caucasian (Italian, perhaps?) boy, probably Kaylin's own age. Underneath a thin black over-shirt or jacket was a cow-print shirt that she found suspiciously familiar.

Next to Kaylin (she had stepped closer to him on instinct when the classmates got angry) Tsuna mini-flipped out and pointed a finger at the strange boy and cried, "He's here! Adult Lambo!"

Her brows insta-scrunched in confusion, a small, cooked frown on her lips. "Wait - Lambo?" That cute cow kid?

Tsuna inwardly froze- he never got around to telling her about the Ten-Year Bazooka! The whole thing was so far-fetched that he thought she wouldn't believe him anyways, mafia or not. But now the evidence was actually here and he couldn't even explain it to her in front of his classmates!

"Tsuna?"

Said fuzzy-headed teen metaphorically shook himself at the sound of his friend's voice. Kaylin seemed to have noticed his distress and was now looking at him sideways in concern, keeping the stranger in her peripheral vision. She couldn't be too careful lately, it seems.

Tsuna lowered his voice so that his other classmates would be less likely to overhear. "I, er, I can't really talk about it in school," he whispered as Kaylin leaned down an inch to hear him better. "I'll explain it later, so please just believe me for now when I say that he's that obnoxious Lambo from ten years in the future." _'Ah, there's no way she'll believe something like that!' _He fretted.

Kaylin jerked up straight and looked back and forth between Tsuna and "Adult Lambo" in disbelief. Her eyes settled on Tsuna and she opened her mouth, then closed it when she took in the earnest and mildly desperate look in her boss's eyes.

She deliberated for just a minute before finally rolling her eyes and sighing. She put a hand on her hip and tugged on her braid, pursing her lips, and regarded the bemused-looking apparently-from-the-future cow at the doorway. She supposed she _could_ see a strong resemblance, though this guy looked...uncomfortably mature. Yeah, that was it.

Before anything else could be said, Adult Lambo (Kaylin decided to drop the mental quotes for now) had his attention drawn somewhere down the hall, and a female voice could be heard. Lambo blinked in (lazy) confusion as a name was called.

"...Romeo?"

Our redhead would have cocked a brow at the cliche name had she not immediately recognized the voice of Bianchi. She imperceptibly tensed and took a casual step forward, making it easier for her to place herself between Tsuna and an attacker.

"You...you're Romeo!" Bianchi declared with a peculiar tone in her voice and finally stepped into view. Kaylin felt mildly concerned when she noticed that Bianchi was holding a triple layer cake that was a a rather concerning shade of purple.

Tsuna rumpled his brows in mild confusion. "Eh? Who's Romeo?"

"Come to think of it, that idiot looks a lot like Bianchi's ex-boyfriend."

Both Tsuna and Kaylin jumped away from the sudden voice of everyone's favorite baby hitman.

"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaimed in surprise. Fortunately or unfortunately, he was getting used to Reborn scaring him half to death, so he recovered quickly. Both teens leaned over to look at a photo in Reborn's hands, and were thoroughly surprised.

"Eh - they look exactly the same!" Tsuna proclaimed while Kaylin's jaw dropped and she deadpanned. They're attention was drawn back to the scene outside of the classroom when Bianchi spoke again.

"Oh, Romeo, you were alive~!" Kaylin narrowed her eyes and leaned back an inch in apprehension when Bianchi's expression slowly darkened, and the redhead full-on jerked when the older hitman out of the blue performed a rather graceful spinning attack and smashed the cake she had been holding right into an unsuspecting Adult Lambo's face. Future Lambo (pathetically, though that's understandable) collapsed into the floor while Tsuna and Kaylin (and Yamamoto) gawked at the outcome of the (sort of) reunion. After the maybe-assassination, Bianchi simply sauntered off, forgetting what she came here for in the first place.

Tsuna looked horrified. "Eh?!" Kaylin merely stared slack-jawed.

"It seems the reason Bianchi and her ex-boyfriend broke up was because of an argument," Reborn told them like it explained anything at all.

Tsuna shook himself out of his shock and hurried over to the unconscious Lambo, Kaylin and Yamamoto on his heels, several classmates following shortly after.

"Lambo, are you okay?!" Tsuna was by his side fretting, though not really knowing what to do.

Reborn turned his head to Kaylin, who was just behind Tsuna. Their eyes met, Kaylin quickly understanding what Reborn was silently wondering. The baby caught on to her uncertainty and didn't pursue his current curiosities. Besides, there was a crowd. It'd be troublesome to have witnesses to whatever it is Kaylin does when she heals. Instead, he off-handedly said words of comfort, though obviously not really caring one way or another.

"Maybe medicine ten years in the future will save his life," he pondered mildly. Tsuna only continued to fret, while Kaylin's eye twitched at the infant's lack of concern. He may be right, however, so Kaylin merely set about wiping the gunk off of the unconscious boy's face with a long-suffering sigh, still holding onto her cake with one hand.

A teacher came and cleared off the crowd, ushering them back to the classroom, except for the four mafia-affiliates. The school staff member looked mildly concerned about the unconscious stranger on the ground and the mess of purple gook on the floor, but Kaylin crafted the excuse that he fainted from trying to eat the cake (purple gook) too fast and that she would take him to the infirmary so that he could recover and exit the vicinity as soon as possible. She spoke rather convincingly and, to be completely honest, she made the teacher rather nervous and he didn't have the nerve to say anything against the idea, so he let her go and took his place in the classroom, washing his hands of the situation.

Though it was a simple lie, the speed with which Kaylin fabricated it and the entirely convincing way she told it rather impressed Tsuna and Yamamoto. If they weren't there, they would have believed her themselves.

Tsuna said as much and Kaylin gave him a tired smile that was almost a grimace. "Lying used to be somewhat of a necessary skill for me, so..." She trailed off with a nervous chuckle and set to work, managing somehow to heft Lambo up and support him under his arm, all the while holding on to her beloved cake.

Tsuna stopped her from leaving just yet and told her, without going into detail, that Adult Lambo would disappear soon and the little Lambo would return. (Somewhat) accepting Tsuna's words, she set off on her trek towards the infirmary. Her two friends looked after her for a moment before the teacher called them back in.

Kaylin was just halfway to the infirmary when she was startled out of her mind by a puff of pink smoke right under her arm. And, just like Tsuna said, Adult Lambo literally poofed away into thin are and was replaced by the little Lambo she became acquainted with before.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, in a small daze. Lambo's green eyes drifted down from Kaylin's steel ones and widened once he spotted the cake in her hand. He gave a very mischievous grin. Before Kaylin even knew what was happening Lambo utilized a very surprising burst of speed, swiped a piece of cake, and leapt out a conveniently open window. And was gone.

Kaylin blinked. She looked down at her plate. Back up at the window, where she could vaguely hear something like "gyahahaha!" in the distance. She looked back at her plate.

And at the single piece of cake left.

...

...

**"You little **_**shit**_**, you took my **_**cake**_**! **_Ladra moccioso! _Bring me back my _fucking cake!_"

The majority of school, including faculty, cowered at the sudden roars of profanity in various languages. A few recognized the distinct voice of the resident American student. Tsuna was tense and nearly terrified, for he had seen her truly angry before. Yamamoto heard "cake," and was actually just a little disappointed, because from what he could make out of the shouts, the cake she made was stolen; he actually wanted to ask her for some, considering he never got any cake, either, but he never got the chance to. Hopefully she had more and is willing to share.

Gokudera certainly heard the din and listened with a mixture of great irritation, some confusion, very mild amusement, and an eyebrow that was both raised and twitching. He could (unfortunately) recognize the voice of that stupid tomboy with the stupidly red hair anywhere. He knew she was American, so where did she learn all that (surprisingly colorful) Italian?

And what the hell was this about cake?

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

After that incident with Adult Lambo (I saw him change back, I kind of had to accept it at that point) the class murmured about it for a while, but eventually they somehow forgot about it. Gokudera recovered an hour or two after Bianchi officially left the building. He scowled at literally everyone except Tsuna, who he beamed at like a loving puppy would if a puppy could smile. Well, at least he smiled at _somebody._

I inwardly sighed. What a complicated kid.

Yamamoto had club practice today, so he left the party with his upgraded signature smile, a wave, and a "see you tomorrow!" I say "upgraded," because I had come to notice that he had two kinds of smiles in general: his usual cheerful grin that he donned for the sake of others (again the fact that it's to make others happy is genuine enough) - the (comparatively) fake one, and the real one he seemed to save for his friends. I had only seen him with that smile on his face when he talked to his (mafia) family - although, it should be **strongly **noted that I wasn't happy with his involvement in the mafia. I've fumed about this subject enough that you should already know why. Besides, it wasn't relevant at the moment.

What _was_ relevant, however, was the impending demonstration of my flame. I _knew_ it was weird. I knew it was possibly dangerous. I've known since that...

...I've known since a long time ago.

While I've used my flames - I had no choice - for my livelihood, I've always been somewhat...reluctant to reveal them to others. That's why I've only told a very, _very _select few people of that particular skill set, Reborn now being among those people. Even then, I could count the number on one hand.

"Kaylin?"

I snapped my gaze up from the ground I had been staring at without realizing it and saw that Tsuna and Gokudera were already outside of the gate waiting for me - though it was clear as day that Gokudera was reluctant about it - Tsuna looking at me curiously.

"Quit spacing out and let's go," said cranky silverette grumped at me, scowling. As I was becoming accustomed to doing, I brushed off his snark with an eye-roll and caught up to them at a leisurely pace.

These people...even the grumpy ass, horrendously pubescent Gokudera were my family, now. I had yet to get used to that simple fact. I'm still keeping secrets, and though I know everyone has some skeletons in their closet - Gokudera, and likely Reborn, for example - like the small hitman (who was suspiciously nowhere to be seen) had said in more or less words, this particular skeleton was bound to come up sooner or later. Fights would come, and I'd have to use my flames. It was important that my comrades knew.

...But the other rotting skeletons can rot for a bit longer.

* * *

By the time our trio arrived at the Sawada household, I had stripped down to my tank top and had my hair pulled off of my neck and into a ponytail at the back of my head that trailed down to my mid-back. My school shirt was tied lazily around my waist and the detachable long strap for my school bag was hanging off of my shoulder and across my chest so I wouldn't have to bother with making sure it didn't hit things if it swung.

"I'm home!" Tsuna called out, already stepping out of his shoes.

"Pardon the intrusion!" Gokudera announced stiffly. I almost giggled at his nervousness - his changes of character were pretty astounding sometimes. Sort of like a Siamese cat, I mused; they attached themselves to one person and the rest could fuck off. Although Gokudera could muster up respect when appropriate, whereas a cat didn't give two shits about not being a dick to other humans.

...On second thought, Gokudera's personality was basically _exactly _like a Siamese cat's.

I was jolted out of my (perhaps heat stroke-induced) ponderings by a particularly sharp elbow to my arm. I hissed through my teeth and vigorously tried to rub out the pain, staring aghast at Gokudera and his clenched fist like he had much more thoroughly assaulted my person.

"What the hell, you stupid Siamese cat?!"

"Be respectful in Juudaime's - " His pissed off face morphed into a confused scowl. "Siamese cat...?"

I flushed when I realized that I had said that out loud and hurried to distract from my little outburst. "Excuse the intrusion!" I piped, voice a little higher than usual. My compliance didn't seem to _quite_ work, but luckily Maman chose that moment to step into the hallway with a welcoming smile.

"Welcome home, Tsu-kun. And it's nice to see you two again," she beamed winningly at her houseguests. Both Gokudera and I flushed a little bit (my settled one returning), very likely for the same reason, that being that we still hadn't gotten used to being so welcomed. Nana turned to Tsuna again. "Your new home tutor is upstairs," she told him, looking and sounding like she was somewhat surprised about it herself. Much like all three of us teenagers.

We shared a look, considering all of the shenanigans that had gone down that day. Without need for verbal confirmation, we rushed up the stairs (Gokudera and I hurriedly kicking off our shoes), praying that no damage, destruction, or demolition had occurred, yet.

Tsuna quickly opened the door just short of slamming it, and all three of us blinked in surprise before a stomach-churning grumble/lurch sounded from Gokudera's stomach and he collapsed onto his knees, arms clutching his stomach and forehead pressed to the floor.

"Welcome home," Bianchi greeted like little brother hadn't just had some kind of stomach attack. I nearly got a cramp in my neck from snapping my attention back and forth between Gokudera and Bianchi. _Well, shit, _I thought. But then I blinked.

Actually...

I made a move to try and haul Gokudera up by the arm before Tsuna started making a fuss, thus reminding me why we sprinted up the stairs in the first place.

"What are you doing here?!" My fuzzy boss flipped.

"It's for love." _Bianchi_.

"It's for work." _Reborn_.

What.

"Reborn needs me~"

"She'll be in charge of some of your tutoring."

...They're on completely different wavelengths, here.

Tsuna seemed to be thinking along the same lines but snapped out of it first.

"Wait, tutor?!" _Oh, good point, Tsuna._

"I'll be teaching you home economics and art." _Oh, shit. _"Reborn asked me, so I have no choice." _No, you could definitely still leave._ "I'll teach you~" _Ew._ Then she whipped out some poison cooking like we should be impressed. Tsuna and I were just standing there sweatdropping at that point.

"But," she unexpectedly digressed, "today I can't." She stood up, leaving her "food" on the table, presumably for us - or Reborn. "I still have luggage to take care of," she explained before making her way towards the door.

Gokudera was still in the door frame while Tsuna and I had stepped into the room a few feet. I suddenly tensed when Bianchi stopped at my side. She turned her head and looked at me hard, and on instinct, I Assessed.

_Assess_

_Age, roughly 17. Height, 169 cm. Weight, just under 50 kg. Bone structure and muscle mass slight, but fit form indicates lithe and grace in combat. Posture and facial expression indicate suspicion, though no real concern is evident. Knowledge of subject's combat prowess in relation to one's own dictates that at least a moderate level of alertness be maintained in subject's presence. Caution should also be observed to avoid poisons or caustic substances, even when subject is apparently absent._

_Possible threat: moderate_

_Immediate threat: minimal to none_

_Additional input:_

_Possible threat to Sawada Tsunayoshi: moderate to great_

_Immediate threat to Sawada Tsunayoshi: minimal to none_

I blinked. Less than three seconds. That was acceptable. For now. Bianchi cast a nondescript glance to Reborn, seemingly with an inquiry. Said baby didn't move a millimeter. Somehow because of that non-answer, Bianchi seemed to gather an adequate answer. She suddenly turned, hair flipping over her shoulder with a swish, effectively ending that moment.

She waved casually over her shoulder and drawled, "Bye, then," to the vicinity.

There was a small moment of silence, filled with contemplation and a pathetic groan of pain -

**"Oh, right," **and in a snap I returned to my senses, blinking down at Gokudera's rough state. Forgot about that.

That seemed to bring Tsuna's attention back to the present, as he exclaimed, "Ah! G-Gokudera-kun, are you okay?!" He hovered (kind of uselessly) above the silverette, waving his hands about while he was likely shuffling through his thoughts.

"Now's as good a time as any, I suppose," I mumbled to no one in particular as I stepped over to give Tsuna a hand in moving the pitiful lump of human away from the door.

Reborn spoke as I grabbed Gokudera's arm while Tsuna supported the other. "I guess it's not surprising that word has spread about your being here, Kaylin."

"Eh?" Tsuna questioned as we hauled the bomber to his feet (barely).

"She recognized me," I simply stated for him, trying not to let my voice get small. We flopped Gokudera onto Tsuna's bed without much trouble. He wasn't completely incapacitated, so he lifted his own feet up onto the bed.

He shot a glare at me, but turned almost puppy dog-esque (are all boys around me capable of doing this?!) apologetic eyes to Tsuna. "Thank you for your kindness, Juudaime. Letting me rest on your own bed..."

His boss gave him a small smile. "No, it's okay, Gokudera-kun, just rest." Tsuna straightened and looked between Reborn and me, maybe waiting for something to happen. Reborn looked pointedly at me, which prompted Tsuna to look at me curiously. I got a feeling that the infant was resisting the urge to tap his foot.

Okay, let's not anger the tiniest hitman in the world, thank you.

"All right, all right, point taken," I conceded to Reborn, who looked no more satisfied than he did before. I stifled an eye roll. I tightened my ponytail like a fighter would their headband in a martial arts movie and turned so that I could face both Gokudera and Tsuna. Reborn, gathering my intentions, hopped up onto the bed and stood by Gokudera's other side.

I took a deep breath and puffed it out harshly.

It's about to be showtime.

* * *

_**3rd person, omniscient**_

"Wait, so what's about to happen?" Tsuna questioned from his place near Gokudera's feet. The conversation jumped from one thing to another, and though Reborn and Kaylin seemed to be thinking the same things and Gokudera must have known what was going on because he was so tense, Tsuna was lost. He wasn't worried; just confused.

Just then, Hina popped out of Kaylin's pants pocket and scurried up her shirt and onto her shoulder. Tsuna blinked when Kaylin held her arm out for Hina to scamper across it and onto Tsuna's shoulder where, with a characteristic waggle of her rump, she hopped up onto his head.

"Do you mind, Tsuna?" Kaylin asked, seeking retroactive permission.

Tsuna lightly shook his head so as not to accidentally dislodge the rat and sounded a small affirmative "nn," though he frowned curiously. He reached up to pet Hina, finding and gently rubbing behind her ear. Kaylin smiled when her rodent partner made an appreciative clicking sound with her teeth.

Hina nice and settled in, Kaylin turned to look at Gokudera, who finally had to be sure:

"Reborn-san, do you really trust her?" He didn't look at the hitman, though, instead keeping a sharp as glass look on the redheaded American that he still wasn't ready to call his family.

Kaylin looked a little taken aback, but was honestly not surprised.

Reborn thought about how to respond. In the end, he only took about a second to answer. "I trust that she won't kill you."

The girl huffed a laugh with a half-smile, a strand of hair moving with her breath. _'Good enough for now,'_ she figured. She sighed, though, crossing her arms.

"Logically speaking, even if I wanted to hurt you, which I don't, I wouldn't even hope to get away with it," she told him. She glanced at Tsuna and then smiled a little humorlessly. "I'm on mafia-style probation." Gokudera narrowed his eyes, hiding surprise with honest suspicion. Why would she...?

None of the three teenagers expected the explanation that came from Reborn. "You're a little young to know, but Kaylin was a first-rate freelance hitman when she was in America, with a lot of accomplishments under her belt. It's only natural that she be on the Ninth's radar should she come near the next Vongola boss."

Kaylin had stiffened when he started talking, but was relieved that the infant hadn't revealed anything specific. Neither the timeframe during which she was disconnected from the mafia nor the nature of her "accomplishments" were mentioned. She was thankful for that and relaxed somewhat.

Gokudera, on the other hand, became even more tense just on principle. He realized that she was mafia - he wasn't stupid - but he hadn't known that she was actually strong. His suspicions weren't eased at all!

Reborn seemed to catch on to this, not honestly surprised.

"The point is, she's not in any kind of position to be anything _other_ than trustworthy," Reborn stated plainly.

"Nor do I have any desire to be," the redhead added, looking earnest and a little melancholy.

Gokudera considered this new information and Reborn's logic. From what he knew of the Ninth, he was a smart man and an excellent judge of character who was among the astronomically small number of people that he trusted. If she was a threat to his Juudaime, the Ninth would know, and so Reborn would know. On top of the Ninth's own judgement, Reborn hadn't deemed her dangerous to the Tenth, either, and he had known her for a while.

The surrounding people could see the thoughtful and calculating look on Gokudera's pallid face as he steadily glared at Kaylin, who didn't shrink an inch under the intensity, which wasn't exactly laughable. His attention was instantly grabbed, though, when his Juudaime spoke to him.

"I've only known her for a while, and - even though she made me nervous at first - " he added in under his breath, to which Kaylin sweatdropped. " - She's only ever actually helped me."

Both Kaylin and Gokudera blinked at that, and Reborn smirked discreetly in satisfaction.

"Juudaime..." Gokudera mumbled, holding Tsuna's words in importance, as he did with everything the boy said. Kaylin was also watching Tsuna. Though well-hidden, she was touched by what little he said.

Trying to help out his female friend even more by easing Gokudera's concerns - though he doesn't really know much about her past, he had an oddly strong feeling that he could trust Kaylin - Tsuna remembered when they talked earlier in the infirmary, during a similar situation as the one they were in currently.

"You're going to try to fix Gokudera-kun, right? Before, you said that you'd explain...whatever it was... maybe if we knew more, Gokudera-kun would be more comfortable, right?" At the last word he turned to Gokudera hopefully.

The bedridden teen held back a grimace for Tsuna's sake. Now that Juudaime's said that...

"...R-right..." Gokudera conceded, though it was clear to everyone that he forced the words out. Tsuna was just glad that he agreed.

Kaylin gave him a grateful smile. How happy she was that he trusted her, even a little.

Then she clapped her hands on her thighs, looking up at the ceiling in thought, considering where to start. She looked down at Reborn.

"How much have you told Tsuna about Dying Will Flames?"

The infant tilted his fedora back to look at her. So she was starting there? "Basically nothing."

The girl deadpanned, then quickly sighed. "Right. Okay, how to start... **Oh!** Okay, so you know the flame on your forehead when you enter Dying Will Mode?" She began with the prompt, looking Tsuna, who blinked and nodded. "Right. If you didn't know, that's a Dying Will Flame. What you may not have known is that everyone is capable of producing one, given the right circumstances. Usually "the right circumstances" entails entering Dying Will Mode. What you also may not have known is that there are different kinds." Tsuna blinked. No, he hadn't known that. And while he wouldn't admit it, Gokudera hadn't, either.

"Well, that's probably a lesson Reborn is more suited to teaching you; the point is, there are at least two different kinds of very rare flames that can be produced without using one's Dying Will. One of those said flames I carry." At that point, she held up her hand, low enough that Gokudera could also see. He was watching very carefully, his high intellect kicking in and taking in everything he could learn and filing it away.

At first, it seemed that nothing happened. But then:

"Ah! Something's there...?" Tsuna was the first of the two male teens to notice. "It's hard to see, but it's sort of wavy and swirly... It doesn't look like fire, though..." He observed. He and Gokudera, who now sees it, both share Kaylin's opinion that her flames look similar to a heat wave.

"That's because my flames are sort of like..." She snapped with the hand that held her flames, causing them to wink out of existence. "Like a void!" She decided.

"A void?" Gokudera's tone was snarky, indeed, but the curiosity was undoubtedly apparent.

"It has a special property of cancellation. It's...hard to put into words, and I honestly don't know exactly how it works - I just know what it does." Gokudera scoffed on principle, and Kaylin quickly retaliated by shooting him a glare before continuing like he hadn't interrupted. "To skip to how I can heal people - my flames can cancel damage." Finally having gotten to the point, she stepped over to her school back unzipped it, impatiently rummaging through it before "aha!"ing and pulling out -

"A pocket knife?!" Tsuna wailed incredulously. "You had that in your bag?!" That was definitely not allowed at school!

The redhead frowned (pouted) and shrugged. "I'm waiting for some things to get shipped from America, so I'm improvising," she rationed. Tsuna's jaw dropped as he deadpanned, but his friend was apparently done with the subject and took her place once more by the bed.

Without warning, she flipped open the knife to reveal a two and a half inch blade and slashed her open palm. Tsuna jerked in surprise, while Gokudera just narrowed his eyes. Only holding back her flames' natural tendencies for a second, the wound slowly sealed itself before any blood could spill, and she let the cut cease to exist. Tsuna gaped and Gokudera's brows furrowed in disbelief - that defied science altogether!

"In my own body it happens automatically," Kaylin stated, letting Tsuna get a slightly closer look.

"There's not even a mark left!" The boy marvelled. A corner of Kaylin's mouth lifted at Tsuna's awed expression. She then waved her hand briefly at Gokudera, who looked quite consternated, so he could see - indeed, he wouldn't have known she had just been cut had he not just seen it himself.

Kaylin abrubtly smirked. "And now a little magic trick~" she said with a teasing tone that made Reborn raise an eyebrow. The female hitman brandished her knife (not near anybody) and said in a show-voice, "The blood on this blade can be clearly seen, yes?" She didn't wait for an answer.

A tiny amount of flames were produced between the pointer finger and thumb of her left hand as she held the knife ready and positioned her hands like she was going to wipe it clean.

"Now you see it~" She began the iconic phrase that translates very well between languages. In one flourished sweeping motion, she rubbed the blood off of the metal with her thumb and forefinger and made the substance disappear. "...Now you don't!" She finished, grandiosely displaying her pristine blade and perfectly clean fingers. Snapping her knife closed and pocketing it, she ended her little performance with a small bow, hand over her heart.

Tsuna blinked once before snorting, earning a grin from Kaylin. Reborn shook his head but smirked at the sound his student made, though he didn't let anyone see it. Gokudera hid any impressed feeling and frowned humorlessly.

"Aren't girls supposed to curtsey?" He drawled.

Kaylin snapped her head in his direction, cheeks puffed out and that charming shade of pink on her cheeks. Not deigning to respond she "hmph"d and crossed her arms. Tsuna forced a lighthearted laugh, sweatdropping.

"_Moving on _\- " She urged, fighting for dignity. "I can heal other people by manifesting my flames before returning them to their dormant state outside of my body and pushing them into someone else's. If there's anything to fix," she eyed Gokudera, "this is how I'll do it."

Gokudera gave a sharp frown. "What if there's nothing to fix?" They'd discussed the possibility that the damage could be psychological - that it was merely his stomach responding to memories of the trauma that his sister caused him. The boy shivered.

Kaylin nodded, using his question to continue her makeshift lesson. "If there is a physical issue, I can help; maybe the food was caustic and harmed the lining of your stomach somehow, and it never got a chance to heal correctly." She inhaled through her nose, eyes going up in thought. "If it's a long-term irritation that is further aggravated by your sister's presence, I may be able to fix it." She looked back down at the boy. "If it's only an immediate irritation, sort of like someone getting so irritated that they break into hives, I can't do anything - that's simply the cells in your body reacting, and can't be considered damage. I think." She shrugged. "Like Reborn said, I'm not actually that experienced in healing people.

"_Additionally,_" she continued, "It could also all be in your head and you're just being pitiful all by yourself," she said nonchalantly. Gokudera twitched violently and Tsuna stiffened, anticipating repercussions for Kaylin's words, but Reborn interrupted, perhaps only getting impatient.

"I think that's enough in the way of explanations."

Kaylin nodded in agreement. "That's about everything... Oh! Just one more thing - " She pointedly gave Gokudera a sharp look. "This will work best if you _let_ me heal you." She paused, then leaned back thoughtfully. "Well, I'd normally say that, but I fixed Yamamoto's arm without him even knowing, never mind his approval..."

Tsuna jerked. "Wait, wait - that medical miracle - that was you?!" He stared at her with wide eyes.

Kaylin blinked at him. "Oh." She smiled sheepishly, pulling on her ponytail out of habit. "Remember the fist bump thing that I said was an American thing? I lied."

Tsuna deadpanned, then slumped, heaving a sigh. "At least Yamamoto didn't figure it out..."

"That idiot," Gokudera muttered. Kaylin frowned at him, but he paid no mind.

"Anyways," Kaylin said dismissively before cracking her knuckles. "Let's get this done." Gokudera immediately stiffened when Kaylin held up both of her hands and manifested a fair amount of flames in both. They were easier to see this time. "Relax," Kaylin ordered impatiently, rolling her eyes. "You won't even feel much of anything," she assured him. Her flames gradually became less like waves of heat and seemed to become more...muted.

Reborn watched closely. Those were no longer flames, he thought. They were more like Kaylin's own human will given form. Though, since in that dormant form they act automatically, maybe they were more of a force of their own, like something separate from the girl's body, but still apart of her being. Like a soul. Though Reborn inwardly frowned at the comparison, it was the closest thing that seemed to fit.

Dying Will Flames were pure energy made manifest outside of one's body, a super dense form of an aura. Kaylin moves some of her energy to the outside of her body, changing it's form into a Flame. But to transfer it to someone else, she changes it back to the form took when it was dormant, before it became a flame: undisturbed and raw.

What she had in her hands was no longer a flame. It was her life force.

And the property, cancellation, must obey the laws of nature. Matter cannot be gained from nothing, and conversely, matter cannot become nothing. When influenced, matter doesn't disappear when it seems to do so - it's transformed and recycled. Only one thing can make matter completely disappear:

Antimatter.

Being the opposite of matter, in every sense of the word, they cancel each other out. While the matter ceases to exist, so does the antimatter. And if the antimatter, Kaylin's flame, is indeed her life force taken form...

It was no wonder she gets tired when she over uses it. Her life force is so taxed as it is, fighting whatever sickness ails her. Of course, life force can be remade - it's only energy, which the body makes by itself. But this girl's supply was only available for other uses to a certain extant. If she were to use too much, there would no longer be enough to counter her illness, and the illness would thusly manifest.

And the symptoms that Kaylin had shown so far: moderate to intense fatigue (as displayed through her fainting fit and apparent need for coffee), a rough cough that smelled of blood (Leon tasted it), perhaps weak lungs (made apparent she cringed and absentmindedly touch her sternum on occasion), the general lack of physical stamina and, though he didn't know it, the vertigo and nausea she felt when she had a fit - there were only a few things that came to mind when considering these manifestations of her lack of well-being.

But as Reborn wasn't a doctor, the girl's ailment remained a mystery, though he had suspicions.

And, because the hitman was only hard-pressed to actually display his emotions and not, in fact, a _completely _heartless monster - though he wouldn't tell anyone that - and this concerned her own health and abilities, Reborn shared most of his conclusions with Kaylin when she was walking home after concluding that they could only wait to see the effects of her healing at a later date.

She listened closely at first, when he talked about her flame. She was amazed at how much he had gleaned from watching her demonstrate only a handful of times, and come up with theories that she hadn't thought of when she herself had used her flames for years! And he was so on-point, too - what he said made sense, and she found herself thinking that he must be right.

But when he began to tell her what he thought of her sickness, she grew deathly pale, a stark contrast to her blood-colored hair. The steel colors in her eyes stood out even more. By the end of his ponderings, Kaylin wouldn't look him in the eye and she was struggling to keep herself from breathing too quickly in panic.

The girl swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling nauseous. She, of course, wasn't a doctor either, but she was beginning to come to a similar conclusion that Reborn seemed to be reaching. She had thought about her illness before - how couldn't she? - but the way the hitman said it - Maybe she just didn't want to think about it and therefore had failed to see a fairly obvious answer.

But that's just what it was. _An_ answer. There were other things that she could be suffering from, other answers. Now that it occurred to her, she was simply jumping to the worst one, like people tend to do. Self-diagnosis was, by rule of thumb, a bad idea. She knew that. So did Reborn, and he made sure to say as much.

"I'm sorry for leaving you with such morbid thoughts," Reborn said after having hopped onto a nearby wall, halfway or so to Kaylin's home.

The redhead finally looked at him, and shook her head, offering a small smile that was almost a grimace. "It's my own health, after all. Besides, the line of thought that lead you there was more than worth mentioning. I got more out of the conversation than possible bad news."

Reborn hummed, but didn't say anything. Optimism had it's uses after all. And she wasn't wrong; she had learned some very useful information that she apparently hadn't come across herself.

With that, Reborn bid her a "later" and padded off, hopping over any breaks in the walls surrounding homes with ease.

Kaylin took a deep, deep breath and sighed, looking at the sky, light starting to fade, the Japanese heat losing its intensity.

She needed a walk.

* * *

_**Omake/Extra: New Neighbor**_

For the second day in a row it was dark before I got home.

'Home.' I still wasn't quite used to referring to this place as that, I thought as I locked my door for the night and tossed my school bag down the hall. It was an entirely different country. They spoke a different language - hell, they spoke language differently, if that makes any sense. I couldn't use the same metaphors or idioms, and I sometimes didn't understand Japanese metaphors or idioms. And don't get me started on the damn proverbs. Freaking ancient philosophers, sharing their wisdom.

And then there was the way people looked at foreigners. Especially ones with red hair. And blue eyes. But that was to be expected, I supposed. The vast, _vast _majority of Japanese natives were, you know. Japanese.

Very Japanese.

Not many had seen foreigners before. Not in person, at least. Not in a relatively small town like Namimori. They were almost common in cities like Tokyo, but not Namimori.

But, that seemed to be changing a little, these days. Including me, there were five foreigners lurking around- all clustered close together, at that. I _was_ the only American, though. And you could tell. There was just something about Americans, be it demeanor or a bone structure brought about by the widely mixed lineages that having so many cultures in one country can bring.

But, hey. Despite being a part of the astoundingly small minority, even among other astoundingly small minorities, I was one of the more normal ones. Well. Normal-acting.

But shh.

The other guys... Don't get me started on them, either. Shapeshifting chameleon and an itchy trigger finger, a cow suit and a ten-year bazooka (not to mention a small artillery inside of an afro), poison and possible paedophilia (seriously, why?), and, while perhaps the most mundane, but certainly on the most destructive side -

_BOOM__**.**_

...

...

What.

No, that didn't just happen. That definitely was my mind playing tricks on me. Maybe I used too much energy with healing that damn dynomi -

_**BOOM.**_

...

...

Okay, so it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me.

But still, just because there was a loud noise -

_**KERBOOM!**_

...

_Fine! _But just because there were explosions doesn't mean it's -

_"Ti serve giusto, maledetta stronzi!"_

...

...

...

I could hear the melodramatic stomping up the rickety stairs, the equally melodramatic stomping on the equally rickety platform coupled with rather _loud_ grumbling and complaining in a decidedly male voice, going _past _my door.

Wait, what.

I fumbled as I unlocked the door and swung it open only to step out and see -

The color drained from my face and I think I lost a bit of my soul.

Staring at me with an angrier version of my own expression was, without a doubt (couldn't stay in denial, now) the Tsuna-obsessed, pyro-hazardous Hurricane Bomb himself.

Gokudera _Fucking_ Hayato.

Standing in front of the door to the apartment next to mine. The apartment _paired _to mine. Apartment number 20.

...

...

_Blink._

"What the _fuck_ are - "

" - you _doing _ here?!" We echoed each other.

_Blink blink._

...

"I _live _\- "

" - here!"

_Gaping-mouthed, horrified stares._

...

...

Mother of god.

* * *

**A/N:**

**"Mother of god" is **_**RIGHT **_**HOLY SHIT.**

**HOW FUCKING LONG DID THIS TAKE, RIGHT?!**

**I am so, SO sorry for taking so long. I got behind when I was supposed to update, **_**nowhere near **_**done with the chapter, even if it were only around 8k words long. And then I had to make it longer to balance it out, you know? And even then I'm a week late.**

**But hopefully this chapter is improved. I tried describing things a little more, like a helpful reviewer suggested, and I pointed out changes in perspective, like the same helpful reviewer also suggested.**

**And about words like "Aneki" and "Juudaime." I'm switching up the Japanese and English terms depending on context. For example, when addressing said elder sister or tenth mafia boss directly I'll use the term like a proper noun, or when they're just talking about them in passing, I'll use the English translation if it isn't directly referring to them. If that makes sense.**

**So, hey! Two character introductions at once! How about that! Damn, son! Next up is Haru.**

**Although I'm thinking that the next chapter might be a filler/character development type. Maybe I'll get Haru introduced, too. Please tell me what you think with that idea, before I get too into the writing, yeah? Tell me what you think about the length, too. Feedback will make me a better writer and will give you a better story! And brownie points!**

**srsly any kind of feedback guys pls ilu**

**also that extra/omake is fancanon so prepare for that**


	10. A Delivery, a Scrap, and a Coma-nap

**Mutt: I am so, so, so, so, so, SO SO SORRY that this took so long for me to write and upload! I struggled with this chapter so much and rewrote so much and I tried really really really hard! I did!**

**Goku: Will you shut up?! What the hell is wrong with you?!**

**Kei: Let the girl vent, holy shit.**

**Mutt: Yeah, let me vent!**

**Goku: Wh -**

**Mutt: I'm so so SO SORRY, you guys!**

**Yama: M-maa, I'm sure they'll understand...**

**Tsuna: Yamamoto's probably right, you know!**

**Kei: There probably won't be a riot or anything like that.**

**Tsuna: K-Kaylin! Don't say something scary like that!**

**Goku: I'll bring the dynamite!**

**Mutt: Don't do that!**

**Kei: I'll hand out the matches.**

**Mutt: You stop that!**

***yelling continues* *Tsuna flails* Yamamoto 'maa's***

**Reborn: *clears throat* Since no one else is going to,**

**Disclaimer: The author claims no rights of ownership to anything but this story and the Original Characters therein. Sue and I'll shoot.**

**Kei: OWNERSHIP?!**

**Mutt: Please don't sue.**

**Tsuna: PLEASE DON'T SHOOT!**

* * *

**Warning: That omake was canon.**

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

I leaned back from my work, satisfied, and yawned while I stretched my back and arms, which I bent at the elbows so I could rub the crud out of my eyes.

_"Are you done?"_ Hina asked as I finally set down the screwdriver that I had been holding for so long my hand was cramped. I nodded, massaging the muscles in my palm tiredly.

Now, maybe I could finally get some sleep before I wound up staying up all -

_"Good, because the sun's coming up," _she said nonchalantly.

I froze. Then nearly snapped my neck when I jerked my head around to stare out the window and, indeed, at the sun rising over the horizon.

**"...Shit." **I was honestly too tired and...well, heartbroken to say much more at that moment. I blinked slowly and surveyed all of the computer parts that I'd cleaned. Scattered across my little kotatsu were a variety of things: a few fans, hard drives, extra bits for RAM and more storage, varying other bits of hardware, not to mention all of the damn screws lying around and the actual computer towers.

...Oh. Considering everything was caked with dust and other crud and the fact that I disassembled more than one CPU, it's no wonder that I'd lost track of time scouring it all.

Again: shit.

I flopped backwards with a heavy sigh, only to hiss and dig another screwdriver that I'd discarded out from under my back. Now that I listened closely I could hear the damn birds.

I swear they sounded smug, the bastards.

_"You're not going to go to sleep, are you?"_

I shot up and glared at Hina, sitting at her place on the small table.

"Why didn't you tell -" I cut myself off when I suddenly remembered that rats couldn't sense time.

Once more: shit.

The fight left me and I almost re-flopped back onto the floor before I thought better of it and stumbled into a standing position to go make coffee.

What was I doing with all of those computer parts? One might wonder. Well, a few weeks or so ago I had contacted some trusted couriers from America to track down a bunch of stuff that I had scattered across the States. Since I was no longer relying on the secrecy of those places, I didn't mind spilling their locations - besides, like I said, they were trusted. Mostly. Of course the couple tens of thousands of dollars I offered helped.

What? That was only about half of what I - ahem, "acquired" from my short stay in Italy after I returned to the world of the living. A lot of money, to be sure, but I really needed to get my things. I had come straight to Japan from Sicily, after all. And that was certainly enough to ensure that none of my stuff was stolen or sold off. For actively dealing with criminals themselves, the couriers were actually rather reputable.

Anyways, a shitload of the stuff I asked for was delivered in the middle of the night. Suspicious, sure, but mostly out of the public eye. I had been so excited that I started sorting through things right away, and wound up cleaning several of the computers I had stashed around.

They were no doubt outdated, considering how long they had been out of use and how fast technology tended to advance, but I took care of them anyways. Some of the parts I could still use, and the rest I could sell to make back a little of the money I spent getting it all here.

I was on autopilot as I considered what to do from there. I'd have to find the parts I needed individually, which shouldn't be _too_ hard. Not like I didn't have any money left, either. And once I get my technology issue sorted out...should I start taking jobs? I sipped my espresso as I pondered. Should I just get a civilian job? I frowned. That felt so...mundane.

Thought your run-of-the-mill middle schooler.

I sighed and began to run a hand through my hair before I grimaced and decided to wash it. By the time I had finished, the sun was up and it was a little after six o'clock. Great. I hummed in thought. Then I shrugged to myself.

Guess I'll leave early and have a jog.

I was not using this as an excuse to avoid the Italian asshole next door. Duh.

I pulled on the gym clothes used at the school (the female ones, so red sweats and a white tee-shirt). I rolled the sleeves up and tucked them under my bra straps to hold them in place (resourcefulness, I tell you) like I always did. I was about to reach for Hina before a thought crossed my mind that made me pause.

I slowly shuffled over to the closet and slid open the door, thoughtfully looking down at the single duffle bag I had brought with me from Italy. When had gone there for the cooperative mission with CEDEF, I had only brought the essentials: a few hygienic products, a change of clothes or two, a burn phone, and the one item that was currently occupying my thoughts:

My work phone.

I hadn't even opened the bag since I got here, the thought at the time twisting my gut into uncomfortable knots. I had settled in now, though, for the most part, and I was gearing up to become more active - perhaps not so much in the underworld, but...it's not like I had discarded my past life. Just the past two years. I'd live a little more clean, no doubt, but old contacts would definitely come in handy, no matter what I planned to do.

I gave my braid a quick tug in that nervous gesture, then gently pulled my old travel bag out from its forced hiding place. Hina remained quiet, observing me with senses other than sight, I could tell.

I unzipped it slowly, pointedly ignoring the clothing that was without a doubt a few sizes too small after a few years plus puberty. Even now I remembered where I always put the device that only those looking for anything suspicious would know to pay attention to.

While it looked like a generic, moderately old, commercially available mobile phone, it was actually a pretty hard-to-track cell that regular civilians likely didn't know existed. The hardware wasn't anything ridiculously special - the software was what made it practical. Various levels of encryption, super-long range, an absurdly secure network that not many used - unless someone who knew how to look, well, _looked,_ it was about the safest way to communicate in any stable way for a young, solo, female Mafioso who was always on the go.

_Was_ always on the go.

I gingerly picked it up, which was unnecessary, since it was _damn _hard to break. On a whim, I switched it on and smirked when I saw that it still had half a battery life left. Even if I wasn't going to necessarily be _needing_ it from now on, it was always nice to have, and it had a great deal of my mafia-related contacts in it.

Again, various levels of encryption and security, here. I'm not stupid.

I tossed the phone in the air, deliberating before catching it easily and stuffing it my school bag for later tinkering. Finished reminiscing, I stuffed Hina securely into the bag next to the phone, hurried to the kitchen to finish the dregs of my still-warm coffee, grabbed my house key, stomped on my tennis shoes and was out and locking the door before I could convince myself that it was actually a good idea to sleep in that morning, after all.

I cast a half-hearted scowl at the apartment next to mine - I hated the number 20, now - before turning with a huff and trotting (carefully) down the stairs, inwardly wincing at the creak in the early morning quiet that still permeated the air. I paused just inside of the grounds of the apartment building, deliberating.

I just washed my hair...

I rolled my eyes at myself and unzipped my bag, asking Hina to rummage around for another hair tie, which she promptly did for me. I twisted the long braid I had plaited my hair into automatically after the wash into a half-assed knot-plus-loop to get it off of my neck and secured whatever possible monstrosity was now on my head. I'd take it down whenever I got to school.

Nobody wanted to get sweaty hair this early in the morning.

* * *

"_Lambo! _Put the live explosives _away!_"

"Lambo-san will never be caught!"

"**Gadammit, you little shit!** Get your cow-printed ass back here! It's too early in the damn morning for explosions!"

Of course my yelling only made him scream and run faster. So I continued to chase the surprisingly crafty five year-old, _greatly_ lamenting my now very sweaty hair. Normally I wouldn't care so much, but it really was too early in the morning for this shit _and _ I literally _just _washed it _that_ morning! LIke two hours ago!

It was actually pretty close to the time when I had planned to make my way to school anyways, and I was trying to figure out in the back of my mind if I'd be able to rinse my hair out before the sweat dried and it got all gross.

I've gone days without bathing before, due to circumstances involving long jobs. Believe me, I _know._

I had only been chasing Lambo for a couple of minutes, but I already had more than my fair share of unwanted exercise that morning, and my chest was starting to sting. I knew I should probably stop, but the kid has _grenades._ And it seemed that he intended to _use them._

I might have questioned the authenticity of grenades possessed by a _five year-old,_ but the explosions of the _last _weapon he pulled out of nowhere (fucking missile launcher) were real enough to warrant caution when this brat of a hitman decided to be violent.

And, dammit all, my boss was a wimp and could very likely get blown up!

With all the reckless running I was doing, I was positive that Hina was gonna throw a fit as soon as I let her out of my bag.

I thought I had heard him mumbling about how he was _definitely_ going to kill Reborn this time (it's good the kid views Lambo solely with disdain), so whether or not I thought he actually posed a threat to Reborn, the kid definitely posed a threat to Tsuna and any civilians in and around the vicinity, and the idea was to catch him _before_ any actual explosions occurred.

Which, thank the gods of the land, I somehow managed to do. Sort of.

While I was of course faster than the average five year-old, this kid kept jumping in and out of yards, which threw me off. So, only when he got distracted did I manage to grab him.

He had hopped up from out of some innocent person's yard, having already upset the shit out of the local dogs, and up and over the surrounding wall, disappearing behind it, presumably onto the next street. Not wanting to lose the little shit, I tore around the corner only to nearly trip over him, earning a startled yelp from him. Making the use of the momentum I gained after nearly falling forward, I more or less tackled him, wrapping him up in my arms and holding him off of the ground to make it harder for him to get away.

Lambo cried a little in dismay, "Let go of Lambo-san!" I ignored him of course, and wrangled the grenades out of his hands. I figured he'd have more somewhere, but hopefully he wouldn't think of getting more, since he, you know, had the attention span of a five year-old.

"K-Kaylin? Lambo?"

I blinked when I heard my name, and looked up to see Tsuna, Reborn, and...a girl?

I only had Lambo in one arm at this point, my other busy with the grenades, so Lambo, the little shit, used my distraction and jumped out of my hold.

"Ah - ! Oi, Lambo!" I called, scrambling to get up.

"Prepare yourself, Reborn!" Lambo called as he, with a surprising display of athletics, leapt up to Reborn, who was standing on the wall, with a flying punch at his one-sided rival. Who, _un_surprisingly countered Lambo's attack with a speeding kick that sent the kid flying past Tsuna's head and a meter or two towards me. I cringed as he landed with a pretty pathetic _thud_ face-first on the pavement.

_Damn, that kid doesn't pull any punches..._

Lambo struggled to push himself up, muttering "_To_..._ler...ate..._" under his breath, likely trying to hold in tears.

I started to make my way over to him, ready to pick him up and check him over before sending him on his way, but I was surprised when the girl that was in front of Tsuna beat me to him and scooped him up.

"Oh no no, are you okay, little boy?"

_Nice of her,_ I thought. Then she "kyaa!'d and started squeezing the life out of him, and I almost laughed, smiling bemusedly at the two. Lambo seemed to be in good hands, so I was about to leave, but when I looked back up to Tsuna and Reborn, they were... hauling ass in the other direction (well, Reborn was just catching a ride on Tsuna's head).

"Tsu...na?" Didn't even say hi? That's weird.

I caught the girl's attention with my mumble, and she straightened like she just remembered something and looked back at the boys, just catching their retreat, and she stood up in mild alarm, still clutching Lambo (tightly).

She seemed to think out loud, "This will continue later!" What an odd amount of conviction...

"Erm..." I started, wondering if I needed to bail Tsuna out of something.

The girl, who looked like she was about Tsuna's age, started like she just noticed that I was here, and she blinked in surprise (still holding Lambo, who was struggling to recover his five year-old dignity).

"_Are_? A foreigner?"

At that moment I remembered the grenades in my hand and in a flash-stuffed them into my bag, ignoring Hina's squeak of protest. Luckily the girl was too busy staring to notice. Though, I shifted a little uncomfortably. Sure, people stared a bit - it was Japan, and I _did_ look weird compared to locals - but the proximity in this situation was a little more personal.

Thankfully she remembered social decorum before it got too awkward, and quickly gave a light bow, actually surprising me a little when she introduced herself.

"My name is Miura Haru. It's nice to meet you." She straightened with a polite smile, and I'll admit I panicked a little. I hadn't introduced myself properly since Maman.

"Er - !" I hurriedly bowed a little. "I'm Steele, Kaylin. Likewise..."

Her smile widened into a genuine one. "What a foreign sounding name!" She blinked and glanced down at the boy in her arms. "Do you know this boy?" Said boy sniffled.

"Ah..." I huffed a laugh as I raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, actually. Unfortunately this isn't the first time Lambo's gotten himself hurt being too rowdy." Although last time a certain Italian teenager was the cause of the pain...

"Ara, you're Lambo-kun?" She cooed, trying to comfort him. "You should be more careful!"

Lambo, likely pleased with the positive attention, sniffed again, and only nodded, holding his finger in his mouth. I held back a sigh. I got the feeling he would _not_ listen. I jumped when Haru randomly "kyaa!"d again and resumed the squeezing. I almost felt bad for Lambo, but I knew Haru didn't mean any harm.

She suddenly stopped, however, and noted, "Ah, I'll be late for school."

...

**"Shit!"** I cursed before sprinting around the girl, ready to haul my ass to school. I skidded to a stop not three steps away, though, and spun to point a hopefully authoritative finger at the boy that caused all this trouble.

"Lambo, you head to Maman's house, and _stay out of trouble_, and I promise I'll give you candy later! _And I'll know if you've been bad_, so don't lie!" I ordered, before turning to jog in the other direction, but called over my shoulder. "He knows his way, so don't worry about him, alright?" And with that I tore off towards school.

I vaguely heard her choke out a confused, "H-hai..."

* * *

_Sprint, sprint, sprint, dodge, bob and weave, __**sprint.**_

Not only did I have to make it to school on time, I had to make it with enough extra time to change out of my shoes, find the bathroom, rinse my arms and legs (and other places), rinse my hair, _and_ change out of my gym clothes before making it back to class, hopefully while skillfully avoid teachers so as not to get caught running in the hall.

I guess I could just be honest and say I had to go to the bathroom. Maybe say I felt like I was going to puke. Most teachers would let running slide for that reason.

Of course I had to get that far first.

I actually had adrenaline in my system, so the pain in my lungs wasn't an issue, _yet_, so there's that plus.

Even the kids who _didn't _have a list of things to do were hurrying to school. I didn't even _want_ to know how much time I had to make it.

I was beginning to despair the impending addition to my already pretty bad attendance record when I blindly rounded the corner of the school entrance, nearly running into a group of boys.

"Wah - look at that sprint!"

That would be the track club.

"Move move move! I can't stop now!" I called ahead of me, trying my damnedest not to run over any innocent passersby. Thankfully, literally everyone got out of the way.

I tore off my tennis shoes as soon as I exploded into the building, hopping my way to where my slippers were stashed, not bothering trying to keep my socks clean. I tossed them ahead of me and slipped them on at a run. I wasn't the only one making my way to class.

I raced to the bathroom, earning a scolding from a teacher.

"Oi, Steele! Quit running in the halls!"

"Sorry, I really really have to pee!"

A male teacher won't touch that excuse without a serious lacking of sense. At least this teacher was rather friendly.

I barely slowed when I reached the bathroom and thank _every_ god of the land that there was an empty stall. The Eastern style toilets still got to me (there was a Western style one in every bathroom at the far end, thank fuck), but I ignored it as I all but ripped off my damn clothes, clumsily slipped on my uniform, stuffed the gym clothes into my bag, and all but kicked the stall door open, scaring a few girls using the bathroom at the last minute.

I pulled my hair out of the knot I had it in, then pulled the tie holding my braid out, rushing my fingers through my hair to untwist it. I earned a few looks as I stuck my head under the faucet (thankfully they were pretty high) and rinsed around my scalp, scrubbing with my fingernails. The stares were understandable - the school _had_ showers, after all. But they were too far away.

I settled with had I had done and began to wring out my hair with my hands, twisting to squeeze out the water. As I did that, unfortunately getting the floors a little wet, the bathroom emptied, and I could hear the hallways getting quiet. Shit. I snagged several paper towels, ran them under some water, and ran out of the bathrooms and off to class, trying to rinse off what I could reach without breaking social etiquette and/or the school dress code.

I _some_how made it to the classroom without being stopped by another teacher, leapt through the door, slammed the wet paper towels into the trashcan, took a deep, _deep _breath...and let it out.

I didn't even bother with a relieved "Made it!" or anything like that. I ignored the absence of chatter and the bemused, amused, and surprised gazes of my classmates, my mafia family's included.

...Silence.

Then Yamamoto laughed. As did several others, in good humor. Gokudera looked both unimpressed and irritated from his place by Tsuna's side. Tsuna looked almost horrified, especially when I leveled a half-hearted glare at him.

Then I stomped over to my seat, dropped into the seat, and slammed my head onto the desk.

"Er - " Tsuna started.

_"I don't wanna talk about it," _I mumbled, voice likely muffled by my uncharacteristically loose hair.

And I didn't have to, because the teacher chose then to make his entrance and called for the class to get to their seats.

I didn't lift my head.

* * *

_**3rd person, omniscient**_

_Poke. Poke poke._

"She's not waking up..."

"Didn't she just twitch?"

"Who cares? Let's just leave the shitty yankee here and go eat, Juudaime."

"But I'm a little worried..." Tsuna was afraid it might have been his fault. He did take advantage of her appearance that morning when that girl Haru had decided that he was scum and that she was going to hit him...a lot. And his friend looked like she'd been hit by a bus by the time she got to class... And she had been in her gym clothes and had been a little sweaty looking, so it was easy for even Tsuna to guess that she had already been running... And, though nobody in his small group of friends talks about it, there's the lightest of rumors that the scary American actually has a weak body... So what if -

_Whack!_

_"Ow!"_

Little Italian shoes landed on the desk that the small family were gathered around, next to the sleeping girl's head.

"Reborn! What was that for?!" Tsuna wailed as he clutched his head where Reborn kicked him.

"You had a stupid look on your face," the baby simply explained. Gokudera remained respectfully silent in Reborn's presence, knowing that the infamous hitman was here for a reason, though he was primed to be of aid to his Juudaime should he be (read: should he _think_ he be) needed. Yamamoto blinked in bemusement and watched, waiting for something interesting to happen like it always seemed to when the fedora kid showed up.

"St-stupid face?! What are you talking about? What are you even here for?!" Tsuna demanded.

Reborn shifted what he was holding in his hand, and it was only then that the small group noticed that the little hitman was holding a thermos.

"You're doing it wrong," Reborn simply said, and Tsuna frowned in confusion.

Not bothering to explain further, Reborn stepped closer to Kaylin's head, and for a moment Tsuna feared that his friend was about to suffer trauma to the head, but the fearsome infant only unscrewed the lid of the thermos and held it close to Kaylin's face, even though it was hidden by the unruly curtain of hair.

_One second. Two. Thr-_

Red hair shot up as the head it was on did, falling in front of the formerly sleeping girl's eyes, but her nostrils could be seen flaring as she sniffed like a dog on a scent. Having unconsciously identified the scent already, once she _realized _what she was smelling, she harshly shoved her fringe out of her face and blinked vacantly at nothing for a second before her gazes focused and zeroed on on the thermos Reborn was now holding up in front of her face.

She could feel herself salivating.

"Coffee...?" She mumbled.

"It's yours," the baby confirmed without any inflection in his squeaky voice.

Despite the nonchalant offer, Kaylin looked as if it were Christmas morning. Her eyes were suddenly bright, cheeks a charming pink, a wide, childish smile plastered on her face - the picture of pleasant (ecstatic) surprise. Without further ado, she gently (but quickly) took the thermos from the baby and, without caring for temperature, she took a long gulp from what she felt was her lifeblood. Then she cradled it to her like it was a kitten, shut her eyes, and sighed in bliss.

Meanwhile, the small family looked back and forth between the hitman and ex-hitman, with a collective thought along the lines of, _"It was that easy...?" _(Though Gokudera had a twitch.) Though it wasn't exactly like they could have conveniently conjured a thermos of coffee for the girl.

When Kaylin opened her eyes, which were still rather dark from fatigue, the small smile turned into a frown as she glanced around the room.

"...What, I'm still in school..." She mumbled.

Reborn frowned up at her. "You slept through all of your morning classes, you know." Reborn wouldn't generally be concerned about the wellbeing of others, but Reborn continued to view Kaylin as an important asset to the next generation of the Vongola. She was already sick with something as it is, and she didn't seem to be taking care of herself. And if she wanted to keep her physical wellness a secret, she definitely needed to start doing a better job about it.

It took a moment for the hitman's words to register in Kaylin's brain, and the three teenagers watched her rapidly changing expression with a mixture of mild apprehension and bemusement. All three of them half-expected her to explode.

Tsuna attempted to preempt her temper.

"A teacher tried to wake you up, but you just mumbled! And we tried to wake you up during the morning break, but you just mumbled again..." His tone went from urgent as he tried to explain to trailing off, a wrinkle clear on his forehead, though he was also clearly exasperated.

"The history teacher even threatened to give you detention," Yamamoto added, head tilted at her.

Gokudera grumbled, "But you woke up to _coffee._"

Kaylin's eye twitched at him, but she was too tired and too distracted with mild concern about herself, though she tried to keep that emotion from her face and ultimately succeeded.

Although, Reborn saw. And Kaylin knew that without even looking.

Yamamoto being the mediator that he was, noticed Gokudera's mounting impatience. "Maa, now that she's awake, let's go get lunch?"

_Grooowl~_

...

Kaylin pursed her lips and flushed a little as Yamamoto laughed.

"Ha ha, see?"

Tsuna gave one of his tired laughs, glad that the atmosphere remained light. Gokudera rolled his eyes in his pubescent-but-naturally-cranky way, and turned to Tsuna with a lighter expression, putting on a smile for him.

"That's right, Juudaime, let's go get lunch now that we know the shitty yankee isn't dead." He said all that with a light tone, like it wasn't mildly insulting to the redhead.

Said redhead's eye twitched as she shouldered her pack and stood up, turning towards the door. "The hell's with the 'yankee' bit?" She questioned with a forced mild tone.

Gokudera narrowed his eyes at her. "Hah? It's obvious to anyone that you're a shitty yankee."

_Twitch._

"I left the 'shitty' part out on purpose..."

"And I said it again on purpose."

_Twitch._

The atmosphere instantaneously became _un-_light and Tsuna tensed, preparing to do _something_, likely flail uselessly or scold Gokudera or Kaylin. He didn't think he had the courage to scold them both.

A few tic marks collectively appeared around the two aggressors, but before anything else could be said, a large hand slapped on each of their shoulders. Both teenagers of the same height and roughly the same temper snapped their glares towards the designated mediator, who kept his placating smile, though a sweatdrop tried to show on his temple.

"Maa, maa, let's go eat! I'm sure you're both just cranky because you're hungry!" And he laughed for good measure. Tsuna cringed a little, sensing that that statement might just make both of them angrier, but Yamamoto didn't give them any room to argue as he promptly steered them away from the desks and towards the door, Kaylin still clutching her coffee.

* * *

Kaylin's yawn was muffled by the half-eaten melon bread hanging from her mouth. She was currently yanking a wide-toothed comb that she kept in her bag through her hair, made scarlet from the direct sunlight. She had let it dry without brushing it, after all, so it had been in considerate need of taming. Finished, she lazily tossed the comb to the ground and set about making quick work of her trademark braid.

The boys seated across from her were collectively impressed by how fast her fingers were moving as she braided over her shoulder. She _was_ half asleep, right?

Although the stubborn Gokudera was pointedly going about eating his (secretly convenience store-bought) meal while ignoring the _filthy female_ that just _had_ to be there (though he twitched in annoyance on occasion), each young teenager was unknowingly paying close attention to their family member/friend - who was indeed a girl, after all.

A girl brushing her hair seemed oddly...personal to the boys. Gokudera had his sister, but hadn't lived with her for years; Tsuna had his mom, but she was, you know...his _mom_; and Yamamoto only lived with his father, Kaylin being the first female friend he had since some time in elementary school. And considering how _boyish_ Kaylin tended to act (she even refused to wear a skirt), the sight of her doing something remotely girly like _braiding her hair_ was, well, novel to the three.

And then Kaylin yawned so hard that she involuntarily dropped the melon bread in her mouth. She looked so funny scrambling to shift so that it didn't fall from her lap while her hands were occupied that Gokudera almost choked on his sandwich. Then she cursed so violently and suddenly that whatever girl-spell she had been unwittingly casting broke with such a snap that Tsuna and Yamamoto jerked with surprise, giving each other perplexed looks.

_Girls._

Fed up (for no real reason), Gokudera groused, "If you're going to do shit like that, can't you go to the freakin' bathroom like a normal person?"

Ignoring the mild insult, Kaylin scoffed, now working on securing the hair tie. "You apparently don't realize how crowded a middle school girls' bathroom gets at lunch." She squinted at the youth quite seriously. "It can get kind of rough." Gokudera narrowed his eyes at her, but went back to his sandwich. He didn't actually have an argument - he had seen how violent women could get in crowds - the housewives in Namimori were no joke during a sale in the market district. He bit back a shiver.

Kaylin shrugged. "It's not like I need to see what I'm doing just to braid my hair, anyways." With a snap, her braid was secure and she tossed over her shoulder like it was no big deal. The boys couldn't fathom how something like that could be done without looking, but they each shrugged it off and filed it under the ever-growing pile of the mysteries of the opposite sex they were discovering as they got older.

Finally caving in to the inescapable hunger for food that all teenaged boys seemed to face, Tsuna and Yamamoto shrugged to each other once more and dug into their meals, Kaylin quickly following suit.

If one could call several servings of melon bread and two cartons of milk a meal.

A couple of minutes passed as they each ate, nobody bothering to chatter; the boys were too hungry and Kaylin was too tired. The collective focus on food was shifted to Yamamoto and Hina once the former begun trying to coax the latter from her hiding place under Kaylin's math book with a piece of lettuce. Tsuna was watching with an amused smile while Gokudera was scowling at the rat in distaste, and Kaylin almost swallowed her milk wrong when the little rodent moved out of cover a few centimeters, only to snatch the lettuce out of Yamamoto's fingers and run back under the book. Her face went red from the effort of trying to hold back laughter so she could attempt to stabilize her breathing from nearly drowning herself with a mouthful of milk, coaxing a snort from Tsuna and good-humored laughter from Yamamoto. Gokudera's grumpy scowl only deepened as he grumbled under his breath.

Tsuna and Yamamoto were both startled when Kaylin's gasps for air suddenly shifted into coughs that, honestly, sounded quite painful. For a split second, all humor disappeared from Kaylin's face before she squeezed her eyes shut and forced a grin, pretending to laugh at herself while mumbling something about "the wrong pipe." None of the boys noticed the redhead's briefly alarmed expression, and she quickly regained her breath after that, lightly banging her fist on the area below her collarbone to clear up any leftover fluid. She ignored the rat's worried inquiry that only she could hear.

"O-oi, Kaylin," Tsuna started, his smile nearly twitching into a grimace, "are you -"

The redhead quickly cut him off with a wave of her hand, laughing convincingly. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she insisted.

"Worrying the Tenth like that -" Gokudera ground out before he finally snapped. "- At least keep your idiocy to a level that doesn't affect him!" He pointed his mostly-eaten sandwich at her, making her jump and stare nearly cross-eyed at it. "_Speaking_ of which, what the fuck was with you being damn near comatose?! Though I can't understand _why..._" The silverette's shoulders slumped at this before he sat rigid once more, "...the Tenth was worried to the point being distracted half the time!" The fact that _this stupid girl_ made his precious Juudaime worry himself over her made him want to strangle the redhead. He was vaguely aware in the back of his mind that he was letting his temper get the better of him, but _dammit,_ how dare she?!

Gokudera nearly snapped his neck when he turned his attention to Tsuna, who jumped like lightning had struck.

"_Speaking of which_ -" the overzealous boy ranted on, "- Juudaime! You shouldn't worry yourself over this shitty yankee so much since she clearly causes so much trouble for _herself_! You'll lose years off your lifespan at this rate!" Gokudera would be damned if he let the Tenth suffer when he didn't need to!

Yamamoto jumped in before the Italian could go further, "Maa, maa, Gokudera - she only choked on some milk because Hina-chan made her laugh," he attempted to placate the boy seated across from him.

Gokudera's cheek twitched violently. "Shut up, baseball freak! He was very worried throughout the day, isn't that right, Juudaime?!"

Tsuna jumped and held his hands up in front of him on instinct. "W-well, s-sort of, but - there's really no need to -"

"See?!" Tsuna nearly shed a tear in despair as his voice went mostly unheard thanks to Gokudera's (repeat) overzealousness. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" Said teenager demanded of Kaylin.

Kaylin blinked rapidly at the glaring teen, fighting a twitch developing on her brow. She held back her irritation towards the other teen, however, and bit the inside of her cheek. She was aware that, though he didn't know it and therefore didn't _actually _have a reason to berate her about it, he had a point.

"W-well..." Now that she had to explain it, she suddenly felt guilty. She used to pull all-nighters all the time, and with energy to spare! How was she supposed to know that her body would react so poorly? She had only been sick for a few months tops, and hadn't been on any jobs recently, so she didn't know just how poor her constitution actually was! It wasn't her fault!

But...

Perhaps she should be more...actively cautious until she _does_ know her limits...

...Like had already been more or less suggested by both Hina and Reborn.

Throughout her thought process, her face continually fell, and it wasn't hard for her company to tell that she was suddenly realizing something that she didn't particularly feel proud about, though nobody knew what that was.

And suddenly she went on the defensive.

"There are several reasons for me being so tired, but only one of them is my fault, okay?!"

Yamamoto blinked widely at her. Horror dawned on Tsuna's face: his leaving her with that girl Haru was one of those reasons, wasn't it?! Gokudera took her reaction as an admission to guilt.

"See?! It's her own fault, Juudaime!" He turned to look triumphantly at Tsuna, but blinked in surprise at seeing him clutch at his hair with a look of despair.

"It's my fault, isn't it?!" He cried.

"Eh?" Gokudera questioned in mild denial. "J-Juudaime..?" Yamamoto only blinked on in confusion, head swiveling back and forth to watch the reactions of his three friends, who were in varying states of dismay. He was prepared to coax everyone into calming down and letting Kaylin explain what had happened, but an Italian dress shoes-clad Italian baby beat him to it. Sort of.

Tsuna yelped as Reborn landed on his head, making a point of causing pain, as he was irritated with his student's blathering.

"Ow! Reborn, what was that for?!" Tsuna complained indignantly. He made to hold his head, but couldn't for the instinctive fear of getting his fingers too close to the baby, so his hands hovered uselessly.

"She said there was more than one reason." Reborn promptly seated himself on Tsuna's head, crossing his legs at the ankles and taking Leon into his hands, running his fingers across the reptile's smooth, juvenile scales. Though his expression didn't discernibly change from his normal one - looking for all the world to be indifferent with the practiced ease of a professional hitman - Kaylin's intuition could clearly sense an authority in the infant's demeanor that demanded to be obeyed. It wasn't exactly hard for the infant to have such an air. In fact, he did that unconsciously. He was among children, after all.

"I'm also interested in hearing what she has to say," the infant simply stated. He said nothing more and waited for Kaylin to speak.

Said redhead blinked at Reborn once or twice, then let out a tired sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. This was going to be a bit of a story.

"Well," she muttered as she slowly picked up the half-full, half-cooled thermos of coffee that had been sitting to the side while the group ate, taking a long, long sip. She set it down and sighed again. "At least I had a nap." She glanced around at her small audience, where even Gokudera was ready to listen to her explanation, his chin propped up in the palm of his hand and his elbow leaning on his knee, although he was levelling a steady glare at the girl.

One more sigh.

Kaylin pointedly cleared her throat.

"In order of incidence: I accidentally didn't sleep last night, while out for a light jog I wound up in a fight, then I had to chase Lambo for several blocks because he had live explosives, and then I had to sprint to school because I was used as a distraction by Tsuna and left to fend for myself against an angry middle school girl." She rushed all of that out in one breath. Gokudera stared at her incredulously, Tsuna looked like several emotions were fighting over his face, and Yamamoto looked surprised. Reborn looked somewhat unimpressed.

Kaylin zeroed in on the infant's lack of a reaction and bit the inside of her cheek, dozens of thoughts running through her head in rapid succession.

She addressed Reborn, "Not good enough?"

"No."

_Sigh._

"Right." Kaylin pinched her nose once more before deciding on tackling the most important and pressing topic. "I'll say this now, but that fight was absolutely in self-defense," she earnestly assured Reborn, the judge of her conduct.

"That's right!" Tsuna suddenly exclaimed. "You're not supposed to get in any fights, Kaylin!" The redhead grimaced and Tsuna struggled to look up at Reborn, though he could really only see the baby's oversized fedora. "Is she in trouble, Reborn?"

"The deal was that she avoid engaging in combat unless in self-defense or in physical defense of you, Baka-Tsuna." Reborn crossed his arms. "So, it depends."

"Right," Kaylin sighed once more, plucked at the wristband on her forearm, and prepared herself for what would likely be a long-winded story.

* * *

_**Flashback, omniscient**_

_"Ha ha! Ma-chan, look at his face!" The smallest person in the alley laughed, poking a cowering figure with the toe of his shoe. The poor victim was nearly in fetal position, covering his head with his hands in an attempt to curb damage as much as he could. Though he had several inches in height over the current aggressor, he didn't dare make a move. There were two others in the alley, both of whom _were_ taller than him._

_The tallest boy, a bear of a person, stood stoically with his arms crossed over his chest, having not made a move throughout the prolonged session of violence and intimidation. With an angry-looking face and dark hair cropped short, he looked quite like he belonged as a bouncer at a club or such._

_The shortest had a mildly malicious grin on his face that seemed permanent. He wasn't wiry, just small. His hair was a wild mess and bleached blond, and he honestly looked like a stray cat. Or a stray, yappy breed of small dog. Despite this, he was the most physically active in harassing the young man on the ground._

_The second tallest, "Ma-chan," was very clearly the acting leader of the small group. He looked like a well-rounded mix between the strength of the bear friend and the speed of the dog friend. If he had to be placed with an animal-label, it would likely be a kind of big cat, perhaps a mountain lion. His hair was a light brown that didn't fall in any particular way on his head, and his eyes, so dark they were almost blue, were by far the sharpest._

_And at the moment, they were fixed on the three's latest target._

_The leader sighed at his laughing friend. "I can't, Hoshi. He's hiding it."_

_"Lame," Hoshi cackled. Perhaps he was more of a hyena._

_Ma-chan was beginning to get bored with this. The threatening scowl he plastered on his face for things like this deepened, and he stalked towards frightened teen. He crouched down and roughly pulled the boy's head up by the hair so he could stare him in the eye._

_"Let me ask you something," he said, tone falsely easy. The boy wasn't fooled, however. He started shaking and was so afraid that he couldn't respond._

_"He can't even talk!" Hoshi jeered, pointing from where he had stepped out of the way to make room for the leader, who ignored him._

_"What's a rich-looking kid like you doing around here?" Of course he didn't answer; he couldn't. His voice had stopped working a while ago. His stomach hurt. "Did you get lost while taking a walk? Do you even know where you are? Huh?" He scoffed. He let go of the boy's head and stood up to spin on his heel with a flourish, holding out his arms in a "well then" gesture._

_"Then, I suppose I could be generous and tell you!" He dropped his arms and levelled a _very_ unamused glare at the boy who couldn't look away at this point and was staring with wide eyes that stung with a few tears that wanted to be shed._

_Hoshi cackled again. "See how kind Ma-chan is!"_

_The leader's scowl was definitely not kind._

_"This is _not_ where you belong, Glasses," Ma-chan spat. He was almost ready to bare his teeth at the poor kid. "This is -"_

_**"The fuck?"**_

_All four gazes snapped to the mouth of the alley, only a few meters away from the little congregation. Standing there, stopped mid-step, was a foreign girl with bloody-red hair and eyes like cold steel, made even more sharp by their narrowed state. She wore what looked to be school-issued gym clothes and an incredulous expression, mouth slightly agape as if she was having a little trouble processing what she was seeing._

_"Ooh!" The little one openly grinned at her with a pleasantly surprised smirk._

_The redhead ignored him and quickly scanned the four forms in the alleyway. Her Assessment found next to no threat in any of the individuals before her, and it didn't take a second glance to see the boy curled up on himself on the ground, looking verifiably terrified. Her eyes widened a fraction and she felt a spark of anger that made her fingers twitch._

_She slowly and deliberately placed her still foot onto the pavement, her tennis shoe sounding a small tap through the suddenly quiet alley. Her lips pursed together and turned down at the corners, and her eyelids lowered into a stare that would make lesser people feel as if they had shrunk to about a meter in size._

_The little one, Hoshi, took a few hopping steps forward, positioning himself closest to the girl, who's eyes barely twitched as she shifted her gaze to him._

_"Well, aren't you as _lovely_ as the day is bright!" He tried his best (sort of) to be charming, although his attitude from early was still clinging to him, so he didn't sound particularly sincere. And, while normally such words would have this redhead puffing up in a shy cloud of steam, it only served to incense her further. "The three of us would love nothing more to escort a lady such as yourself for a short while, but we're unfortunately busy with, you know, business." He gestured behind himself with a mischievous glint in his eyes._

_She brushed past him._

_Hoshi blinked and spun around to watch her stalk towards his two friends with a perplexed frown on his face. What the hell was she doing? That was the part where she was supposed to run away shrieking or something._

_Ma-chan had been silent, assuming like Hoshi had that the girl would be handled with that one interaction. She continued to stride forward, refusing to look directly at anyone in the alley except for the boy on the ground. The leader's eyebrow twitched as she neared him, and his scowl deepened once more._

_"Oi."_

_Before the word even finished leaving his mouth she passed him by, not even sparing him a glance._

_What the _hell_ was she doing?!_

_The boy on the ground was staring at the approaching girl with fear rolling off of him in nearly tangible waves, eyes remarkably wide behind his large glasses. He had been asked to run some errands by his mother and sister, since his father had already left for work, and had gotten a little lost. Because of that he had wondered into a rough neighborhood without even realizing it and was suddenly cornered out of nowhere by this terrifying bunch._

_He was so scared he couldn't even think straight. Someone as timid as him couldn't possibly survive something like this! He should have bolted as soon as he had the chance to, but the moment his eyes locked with the one that seemed like the leader's his knees began shaking so much they could barely work properly._

_And this girl's eyes are even scarier than the leader's! Horrible scenarios and possibilities began running through his head about how she could be a part of some foreign mafia or the daughter of some corrupt organization's CEO or maybe the leader of a girl gang or some hired mercenary that coincidentally happened to be taking a stroll and was looking _straight at him_ and -_

_The boy yelped when the girl yanked him up by one of his arms with both hands. It seemed rough, but she only used enough force as was necessary to lift him to his feet. He flinched, expecting to be hit or something, but the girl only rolled her eyes._

_She kept one hand latched to his left arm, her right going to his shoulder as she began to guide (push) him towards the opening of the alley. She still hadn't bothered to look at the three assailants, and only did so when the small one shifted so that he was standing in front of her and the boy, who cowered behind her out of instinct._

_"Oi, oi, that's not good, nee-chan. We're not finished," Hoshi sneered._

_The foreigner shifted so that only one hand was holding on to the boy in the glasses, her free left arm hanging at her side, apparently relaxed. Her hard expression didn't change as she began to drag the boy forward, towards the small one._

_"You are, now," the girl insisted in articulate Japanese._

_Though a civilian wouldn't generally notice, the redhead was hyper-aware of every movement in the alley, and easily caught the flicker of Hoshi's eyes to the area behind her as he spoke next, subtly shifting so that the boy was slightly in front of her. Not even the terrified victim noticed._

_"You know, nee-chan...I'm thinking you don't quite understand the situation here."_

_In that split second, the girl felt something brush her shoulder - which was just as she had anticipated. In a swift motion borne of years of quick combat and rapid decision making, she gave a gentle but effective shove to the boy in the classes, moving him out of the way. In the same second she reached over her shoulder and grabbed the hand that she knew was there. She used the slightly compromised balance of the person - the leader, it turns out - to yank him forward and stuck her foot out to trip him while simultaneously giving his back a harsh shove, causing him to stumble and trip into his short friend with such force that they were knocked a meter or two out of the alley completely._

_"What the -!"_

_Before the two had even finished hitting the ground, the redhead grabbed the boy she had pushed into the wall by the arm and, aware that there was still someone behind them, pushed him front of her at a run and guided him to the mouth of the alley. As soon as the boy was hit by the light of the still-low sun, the foreigner was grabbed by the shoulders from behind by large hands._

_She made a 'tch' sound before giving the boy a push away from her and the alley._

_By this time the two fallen young men were scrambling back up, and the boy with glasses snapped his head around to look at his savior of the day. Now that he was out of the dark alley, the girl was surprised by how nearly his hair reached the color red. He gaped at her, but before he could say anything, the girl grinned._

_"Go, already." Sensing how large in stature the boy holding her was, and before he could actually do anything, she swung her leg up in a rapid arc and directly onto the fragile cartilage of his nose. He gave a yelp surprisingly not befitting of his size and instinctively let go of her shoulders to cup his very broken nose in his hands. Her grin widened as she clapped invisible dirt off her hands. "I can handle things here."_

_The boy in glasses snapped shut the mouth that he didn't realize had fallen open before giving a jerky nod and bolting. The redhead followed him a few steps to watch him sprint off. She suddenly gave a delighted squeal with a not-so-discreet fist pump._

_"Oooh, I always wanted to say that~!" Before she could continue though, she hissed and started to shake out her leg, the one she kicked with. "Aah, I hope I didn't just pull something..."_

_She replaced her foot on the ground, though, when she saw the two that she had knocked down fully straighten themselves. The short one gawked after the retreating almost-redhead, while the leader leveled a furious glare at the actual-redhead, teeth nearly bared._

_"What the _fuck_ was that?!" He demanded to no one in particular._

_The redhead pursed her lips at the inconvenience. "I was sort of hoping you'd all stay down..." She muttered._

_"Like hell!" The leader shouted, temper thoroughly lost and not likely to be reigned in._

_"I'll just say this now," the redhead glanced behind her at the large one that was still holding his nose, but fixing her with startled, but definitely a little peeved, eyes, "but _that -_" she pointed both fingers at the two boys and the other's broken nose "- was absolutely self-defense. Don't you think we could, I dunno, call it quits before any more injuries pop up?"_

_The black-eyed leader hissed out through his teeth, lips twisting down into something short of a snarl, and growled, "Hoshi, Kuma - stay out of this." And he began to stalk forward._

_The foreigner resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. She took a side step in an attempt to get around them in an attempt to avoid further conflict, but Hoshi rushed to block her way. She tilted her head at him and gave a look as if to ask 'really?' She looked over her shoulder to see that the big one - Kuma - had lumbered over to stand behind Ma-chan, more or less "cutting off" her paths of escape._

_She rolled her head back to stare at the sky in a moment of exasperation. She gave the leader a side-long stare, a mildly trouble look to her face which only served to irritate all three boys even more._

_She tried again, "Are you sure we can't just -"_

Swing.

_"Yes."_

_The leader had interrupted the redhead with a right hook aimed at the face, and she was forced to stop short and duck under the punch before dancing around to his other side, pushing her school bag behind her back with one hand._

_"That was a little rude," she mumbled, but didn't look much perturbed._

_Without a word the leader swept his leg out in a kick aimed for her head once more. The girl ducked once again, backing up a bit._

_"Well?" He demanded. "Come on!"_

_She raised her brow this time. "You'd fight a girl seriously?"_

_He nearly growled, "At this moment, yes."_

_The girl's lip curled in a smirk. "Fair enough."_

Punch, duck.

_She skipped back. "To answer the earlier question, I know exactly what the situation was." _Duck. _"That boy happened upon the wrong place at the wrong time and the three of you decided to metaphorically wave around your dicks in a display of dominance like a bunch of chimps."_

_The leader froze mid-swing at the redhead's blatant use of vulgarity._

_She straightened. "Or was there another reason that you felt the need to corner him three-to-one?"_

_He snapped out of his surprise, eyes narrowing dangerously and fists clenching so hard they trembled, and barked, "As if you would understand!" He was getting positively livid. In a lapse of judgement he swung at her in anger, resulting in a clumsy, slow punch uncharacteristic of him._

_Seeing the opportunity, the foreign girl deftly sidestepped and grabbed him by the outstretched wrist, pushed on the elbow of the captured arm and tripped him once more, adding her own force to the boy's momentum and slamming him into the ground face-first._

_"I don't particularly want to," she told him in a calm voice. "Now, if I could just _leave _-"_

_"You little high-and-mighty piece of -" Hoshi suddenly snapped._

_Another poorly thought-out action taken in anger. The short boy charged and reeled his arm back, ready to land a solid punch to the girl's face once she turned around, like he knew she would. She would be too slow to react, and Hoshi was _fast,_ and -_

_The look she pinned him with made him feel like she had just swiped a knife at him, the cold metallurgy in her eyes threatening to cut him. He faltered, nearly tripping, but he couldn't stop the punch that he had half-started already. The redhead easily stepped around the aborted swing, and Hoshi went stumbling forward, his back to her._

_"Dammit, Hoshi, I said -" From the ground where he was still righting his fallen position, the leader's heart seemed to sputter to a stop, along with his words. The girl's arm was raised above his friend, fingers almost curled into the shapes of claws, ready to strike Hoshi's neck._

_Very few times in his life had he seen murderous intent so potent that it physically affected him, but this was one of those times. A dreadfully cold chill spread from his spine and through his blood to the tips of his fingers and toes. It seemed like every bit of blue in the foreigner's eyes had been dashed away by a cold ferocity, leaving the steel color glinting like a dull blade. For an instant, the leader was sure, without a doubt, that his friend would be killed._

_And then she blinked. And every muscle in her body tensed for a split second before she relaxed her fingers and brought the heel of her hand down in a quick chop at the base of the small boy's neck. He fell down immediately, unconscious. The foreign girl then shifted her gaze to the two left standing._

_The leader was left trying to fill the gap that his departed tough-guy facade left._

_"Wh-what is _with_ her...?" He breathed._

_Before Ma-chan could push himself off of his knees, Kuma suddenly surged past him in a fit of rage for his fallen friend._

_"K-Kuma - ! Shit!" He knew words wouldn't stop the bear of a teenager, now. _Damn him and his protective instincts!

_Like she had with the leader of the group, the girl dodged every one of the punches her opponent threw at her, even more easily so now that her opponent was slower due to his size._

_Her breathing was _just_ beginning to shallow, and the leader though maybe, _maybe -

_If only he could land a hit -!_

_No, he knew now that neither of them could. Without a doubt, their leader's temper had gotten the three of them in way over their heads. While that particular look seemed to be completely gone from her face, he had _seen _it. He wouldn't have guessed when he had first saw her - he had though she was just remarkably awful at reading the atmosphere - that she was a capable fighter, let alone..._

_In the longest time, he hadn't felt fear, at least not for his life._

_But there was only one thing in the world that could put that look in someone's eyes. It's different than the look of simply _wanting_ to kill someone, because even then there's more anger than actual murderous intent in the passion of the moment. So much anger that all one wants to do is grievously injure the other person, and usually they just happen to stop moving as a result of the angered individual going farther than they would have intended had they been rational._

_But then there's the other look - the anger is limited, though it varies - and is full of the uniquely chilling intent of ending the life of another human being. Less anger and more understanding and knowing _exactly_ what they were about to do, knowing the consequences and doing it _anyways _because they had -_

_\- _done it before.

_Ma-chan scrambled upwards without thinking so quickly he kicked up dust._

_He didn't think he'd be able to placate his bear-like friend in any practical amount of time. He also didn't know if and when _that look _would return to this girl's face, or if she'd decide to squash it down again, whatever her reason was for doing so the first time. And she hadn't even legitimately struck any of them and Hoshi was already unconscious._

_By the looks of it, her breathing was starting to come at a quicker pace. Ma-chan couldn't know how thin her patience may or may not have been wearing, but sooner or later she'll likely try to incapacitate Kuma if he kept up those relentless swings of his. Without having actually seen it, he knew what this foreign girl could be capable of, and he didn't want to give her a chance to change her mind about apparently not wanting to hit back, and he didn't want to find out what would happen to his friend if she did._

_So in his adrenaline-muddled brain, there was only one thing he could think of to do._

_The girl narrowed her eyes when she saw the leader running in her direction from around Kuma's shoulder; the large male himself had his back to him. The girl tensed and prepared to spring out of the way if necessary. Ma-chan took half a step around his friend, who's eyes were furiously trained on the girl. The redhead faltered when the leader suddenly pivoted with a determined set to his jaw and brow, and her eyes shot wide when he pulled his fist back just enough -_

_\- and swung in the wrong direction._

_She nearly jumped out of her skin when the leader's fist crashed into his friend's jaw, hard and alarmingly fast; the force treated the bones like a lever, causing the boy's brain to smash into his skull. Kuma's own half-thrown punch immediately stilled and his eyes widened for a split second before they rolled back and his knees buckled. Out cold._

_"Sorry, Kuma -" he caught his friend under the arms with a grunt before hastily lowering him to the ground, dark eyes quickly snapping back up to the girl's astonished ones. She blinked owlishly, hands having been pulled to her chest, half in surprise and half in defense._

_"Er -"_

_"Truce," Ma-chan interrupted before she had a chance to ask any questions. He had his hands half-raised in a placating and defensive gesture. His eyes were steady and his voice strong, though there was a slight trickle of sweat at his temple._

_The foreign girl twitched._

_"...Truce?" Her hands unceremoniously dropped to her sides and she stared at the leader, looking like she couldn't decide whether to be incredulous or furious._

_"You...want a truce? _Now?_" Both, she supposed._

_Ma-chan grit his teeth and forced himself to remain silent. Maybe...that wasn't the right word to use._

_"You... you _beat_ some poor kid up for no readily apparent reason, got angry at _me_ for just _helping_ the guy - I didn't even _touch _any of you until _you_ tried to grab me from behind, probably to do something horrifying - the kid was already _gone,_ but no! You weren't satisfied! So you decided to try and vent some of whatever the hell kind of angst you're suffering from on a passerby that did you no harm, and when you figure out that you can't even so much as land any hits, you... you want a _truce?_"_

_By the end of that her hands were trembling in a suppressed outburst of indignant rage._

_And for Ma-chan, a familiar resentment and horribly bitter feeling was bubbling just beneath the surface at her, to him, disparaging preaching, even though if he had thought about it, he'd agree that she hadn't actually gone that far. But still._

_But still. He clamped his jaw shut, determined not to put himself or his friends in any more danger. Despite that, and despite her own anger, the redhead didn't miss the wounded pride and something nearing hate pounding in the boy's eyes, even though he clearly tried to reign it in._

For his friends' sakes? _she wondered absently in the back of her anger-muddled mind._

_Her mouth opened and closed multiple times, unable to figure out how to express how _stupid_ these boys were, but she ultimately clacked her teeth shut, grimacing with the near _physical pain _of withholding her temper._

_She knew righteous preaching wouldn't get through to these types. At least not _her_ righteous preaching that would no doubt be riddled with insults and unpredictable flares of temper._

_Even though she _definitely_ had more to say._

_She bit out, "Well. At least you're not stupid." She knew the street thug types. When things got bad, they either ran, abandoning their "friends," or they snapped and charged, fear clouding their judgement. She didn't know about the other two, but the leader, at least, didn't fit the bill of "just a high school-aged thug."_

_The leader's eyes flashed, and his hands balled into fists._

Okay, don't re-escalate the situation,_ she had to remind herself._

_"Fine!" She bit out._

_Ma-chan remained tense._

_"You want a truce? Reign in the pointlessly violent outbursts." She narrowed her eyes at him. "This might be your 'territory' - or whatever - at the moment, but that may change soon. Not by my hand," she pointed out._

_The boy couldn't decide whether to relax because of the girl's waning anger and acceptance of the truce, or to tense further at hearing what she had to say._

_"What the hell are you talking about?" He demanded._

_She didn't clarify. "For your own good," she instead warned, "stay out of trouble." She gestured to his unconscious companions. "For their sake, if not for your own."_

_The foreign girl then huffed a breath and turned on her heel, too irritated to have the courtesy of stepping around Hoshi instead of stepping directly over him._

_"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to leave before _I_ do something stupid," she grumbled._

_Ma-chan didn't allow his shoulders to relax as he watched her back, and he almost left it at that._

_But he had to know something, at the very least for future reference._

_"What are you?!" He called._

_The redhead stopped and half-turned to him in surprise and in question. She quirked an eyebrow._

_"Don't you mean 'who?'"_

_The boy scowled. "I mean _'what_.' Do you belong to a gang? Yakuza?" He hadn't been aware of anyone this strong in the area..._

_To his surprise and irritation, the girl snorted, turning a little more fully towards him with an amused half-grin on her face._

_She almost gave a wry laugh. Yet again, she didn't answer._

_"Yakuza? Please. Those of a _much _higher pay grade are in town, and likely will be for a while." She seemed to consider something before her look darkened. "If you don't know, then I'll tell you. If you go and cause trouble for the wrong people, petty little things like yakuza thugs playing power games will be pretty far from your mind. I wasn't kidding about it being for your own good."_

_And the frighteningly strong foreign girl with the blood red hair left the boy with his unconscious friends still heaped on the ground and a foreboding enough feeling that he had to swallow down what he could have sworn, but would have never admitted, tasted like bile._

_She was dead serious._

* * *

_**And the story was told, in more or less words.**_

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

"Like I said, 100% self defense!" I emphasized one more time in conclusion. It _had_ been long-winded, and I gulped down the rest of the coffee that Reborn gave me.

The three teens in front of me blinked with varying expressions before turning their eyes to Reborn, still seated on Tsuna's head, for a verdict. The infant, having gone back to running his fingers along Leon's tiny back, remained silent, causing me to fiddle with my wristband once more that day.

_Silence._

_..._

_..._

"It _was,_" I almost whined, fearing that he didn't believe me and that I really would get in trouble and maybe I wouldn't be allowed to stay in Tsuna's family or maybe I would be completely _shunned_ and my _life would be in danger_ or -

"I know."

I blinked. Repeatedly.

"You - er. You what?" I heard that right, right?

Reborn gave a nonchalant shrug, placing Leon back onto the brim of his fedora.

"I saw; I was there."

...

He - He was -

"You _what? _I didn't even - the whole time?! But - Why did -" I stuttered. Then my eyebrow started twitching. "Then why did you have me explain everything if you knew exactly what happened?!" I demanded.

Reborn shrugged again. "I wanted to see how you'd explain yourself," he said, like it was obvious.

I gaped, eye still twitching.

Then, before I said anything that would get me shot, I leaned back, covering my face with my hands.

_Let it go...Just let it go..._

"R-Reborn..." Tsuna half-heartedly chastised with a sort of resigned exasperation.

"So, Kei-chan, you're actually pretty strong?"

I peeked at Yamamoto through my fingers to see him blinking at me with slightly wide eyes. I huffed a breath, lowering my hands, and shrugged once.

"I've had practice," I demurred.

Gokudera scoffed. "As if taking on only three guys is impressive." Tsuna twitched.

Yamamoto laughed. "It isn't?"

"_No!_ I could take out that many with one hand!"

I half-grinned. "Well, only three really _isn't _that impressive," I agreed. Gokudera only "hmph"d.

"And what about all the other stuff you mentioned that made you so tired?" Yamamoto reminded me.

"Like how do you _accidentally_ stay up all night?" Gokudera pressed. Tsuna looked interested, too.

I laughed nervously, tugging my braid.

"W-well, some things finally arrived from America, mostly computer parts, and I lost track of time cleaning them all..." At the disbelieving look from Gokudera, I sat up straighter in defense. "There were a lot, okay?! I had lots of computers!"

"Th-that's some focus you must have had..." Tsuna commented, this time looking exasperated _at me,_ making me feel oddly guilty.

"Huh, so Kei-chan likes computers?"

I shrugged. "Not any more than the next person, but they were necessary." Yamamoto hummed.

Tsuna looked like he was thinking. "And then you had to chase down Lambo, and then..." A renewed look of horror crossed his face, and he held his fuzzy head in his hands, prompting Reborn to hop off. "Agh, I'm sorry, Kaylin!" Gokudera went on alert, trying to calm Tsuna down.

I blinked, becoming alarmed myself, before I remembered what he was talking about. I laughed, then, making Tsuna pause in his spasms.

"What the hell did you even do?! She said, 'This will continue later!' Why was she so mad?"

"I didn't do anything! Reborn just spoke to her and then -" He cut himself off and held his cheek with a look of utter despair, and my mouth dropped when I realized that she probably hit him.

Then I laughed again.

* * *

**A/N:**

_**IMPORTANT THING AT THE BOTTOM**_

**You guys, I am so sorry that this took so long. So many stories have been swirling around in my head, I've been stressed over things that I shouldn't be stressed over, and I just struggled with this chapter more than I should have.**

**Speaking of this chapter, it was even supposed to be longer, but I cut it short because it was already 8k+ before I realized it. Not 18k this time, so that's good. I got a mild complaint about that length, but I also got a "LOVE THE LONG CHAPTER" kind of comment, too, so I settled for something between the average and the longest.**

**That flashback was so long, holy shit.**

**Also, since I cut the chapter short, I've got the next one more or less lined up and plan on starting it right away. It'll have what's left of the episode this chapter's based on, and, since I imagine THAT won't be long enough to be a chapter, I'll lead up to the next chapter with it, instead of it being episodic. The next "arc," I suppose, will technically be filler, I guess. Field trip! I mean, it'll be canon to the **_**this story**_**, with character bonding and such, so that's a plus.**

**I didn't even mean to have a flashback here. But I let the plot bunnies rampage and oh look! three new OC's. Oopsies.**

**They're sticking around, btw. They will not be called "Ma-chan" and "Kuma," also. Hoshi will remain Hoshi, because it's easy to remember and Kei-chan secretly has trouble pronouncing Japanese names.**

***cough* as do i *cough***

**Anywhoo. If you would review, tell me what you think, that'd be super awesome. You should know that I've struggled with writing action in the past, so feedback on that, at least, would be beyond appreciated. Seriously.**

**ANNOUNCEMENT-ISH: I'm working on (in my head, mostly) a new story (or two) that will likely make their ways onto FFN, and I'd really appreciate if you would follow ME, as opposed to just this story, so you could see when I post something new. If you like my writing or something. The stories will likely be about Natsume Yu****ujin-chou and/or Gintama, respectively. Both OC stories. I've already started writing the Gintama one (stuck on the first chapter, tbh), and am watching/reading Natsume Yuujin-chou to catch up on canon and junk.**

**So! I'm so relieved to finish this chapter, holy shit. On to the next! As promptly as fucking possible because DAMMIT I owe you guys _big time_ for the wait.  
**

**Like damn.**

**P.S: Check my profile for updates, news, whatever. Seriously, do it. Pretty please.**


	11. A Half-Attended Study Group

Kei: So -

Mutt: I don't wanna talk about it.

Kei: But -

Mutt: Nope.

Kei: Bu - !

Yama: Maa, Kei-chan, I'm sure she had a good reason for not posting anything since July of last year! Right?

Mutt: *sudden wails and waterworks* NOT YOU, TOO!

Yama: Er...

Kei: Smooth.

Tsuna: I feel like you were about to bring up the same point...

*wailing and whale noises continues*

Kei: Well, the same **Disclaimer **here as in every other freakin' chapter.

Mutt: PLEASE READ THE NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OKAY I LOVE YOU ALL FORGIVE ME PLS *SOBS*

Kei: OKAY, NOW WILL YOU SHU -

**WARNING: Mention of suicide/suicide attempt. You know the one. A smidge of Kaylin-brand insight into Yamamoto's rough point. Not much, but just a heads up.**

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

"Gokudera Hayato and Steele, Kaylin, you've both received perfect scores on the recent math test."

"Ha!"

_"Hah?!"_

Roughly the same sounds, rather different meanings.

I smugly waved my graded test in front of Gokudera's face with a hand on my hip and a self-satisfied grin stuck to my expression.

My expression of _self-satisfaction._

He snatched it out of my hand and glared at it like it was some scandalizing photograph. I remained smug as he snapped his glare to the teacher who, to his own credit, only twitched violently in mild alarm.

"Are you sure you didn't grade this wrong?!"

The teacher looked like he was internally yelling at himself to grow a pair and stand up to a delinquent middle schooler.

"_Quite_ sure."

The silverette, not satisfied, scanned my paper himself, foresty green eyes flicking back and forth, and my smugness only heightened when I saw his cheek spasm.

"H-how the hell -?"

Before he wound up crumpling my test, I _gently_ pried it from his fingers and turned on my heel to walk back to my desk, significantly toning down the smug attitude. I was only happy because I didn't score lower than _him._ I had no desire to rub it in the rest of the class' collective face. After missing a beat, Gokudera stalked after me, a row over, and to his own seat to the right and a few spots behind Tsuna.

Said fuzzy-headed young teen smiled at both of us, looking disproportionately amazed.

"That's amazing, you two!"

Gokudera immediately deflected the compliment. I had a suspicion that had anyone else said it, the Italian would be annoyed, but because it was praise from his Juudaime, he took it with as much grace and appreciation as he could muster. Hm.

Tsuna's doe-y eyes turned to me and I found myself deflecting much like Gokudera did, to my dismay. My smile turned sheepish.

"W-well, we studied, after all..." Was that the best I could come up with? Really?

"_Ehehe~ _Kei-chan's so shy~!"

A mischievous voice that I could just _hear_ the smile in sounded from a bit away. I twitched violently and mechanically turned my head towards the front of the classroom, fighting the scathing glare that threatened to take over my entire demeanor. I forced an unconvincing smile that was more a scare tactic than anything.

"Face forward like a good student, _Saya._" I bit out through clenched teeth. The girl cackled to herself and she complied, shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth.

I ran my hand down my face with an exasperated sigh and moved to take my seat when I heard a quiet laugh to my right. I paused and blinked over to find Kyoko with a dainty hand over her mouth, giggling to herself. Like she had given the clear, a few more titters bounced around the room. Kyoko opened her eyes only to see me looking at her curiously. She quickly returned to facing the front, but I could still see her lips pursed together, fighting a smile.

I glanced at Tsuna. He was gazing at Kyoko with an almost dazed look on his face, and I was suddenly reminded of his crush on the girl. Since he wasn't looking and couldn't be distressed by any look I may have had on my face, I didn't hide the small, wicked grin as I finally planted myself onto my seat.

_I know your secret~_

All scheming that I may have otherwise began was interrupted when the teacher called out a couple more names.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

The fuzzy head jerked to attention. "H-hai!" He stood up straight.

"Yamamoto Takeshi."

"Yeah." Yamamoto got to his feet in a much more relaxed manner.

I furrowed my brow a little. They hadn't gotten their tests yet. I wondered what the prob-

"20 points."

My jaw dropped.

Oh. That's what the problem was.

I covered my face with my hands to dull the thud of me dropping my head onto my desk. My face was squished, so when I mumbled, _"We studied, after all..."_ it was an incoherent jumble of _mostly _human noises.

According to the teacher they had to make up their tests. But! They would do it out of school and turn it in the next day.

But. They had to get a perfect score. He didn't elaborate what would happen should they fail.

Bad things, probably.

But! Tsuna did well enough away from the test when I helped him study, so I'd just help him out again this time! No problem! He couldn't possibly fail this! And the teacher didn't specifically say to do the homework alone so it's not cheating!

Maybe not smart on the teacher's part. But whatever. Plus for us.

Oh. And there was Yamamoto. He scored just as bad as Tsuna did.

...I tried really hard not to think about how bad _that_ implication was.

Have faith, me. We'll work something out.

...Probably.

* * *

I was _going_ to just show up at Tsuna's house to help him with his homework. Pleasant surprise and all that. But Yamamoto had a better idea, that pleasantly sociable fellow. He had apparently snagged Tsuna aside while I wasn't looking and suggested they do the homework together. Reborn popped up and decided that the little study session would be held at Tsuna's house, and all was agreed upon. Tsuna left promptly after.

Probably to clean his room.

This time _I_ was snagged aside, just as I made it out of the school gate. I was moving rather sluggishly, what with not sleeping when I should and then sleeping in a weird position when I shouldn't. The coffee was probably why I wasn't sleepwalking by that point.

"So, you'll go, too?"

After giving me a short rundown, he told me that since I was one of the two that scored perfectly, it would be a pretty good idea for me to be there, since I actually knew what I was doing. His words.

I was about to verbally affirm when a yawn overtook me, so I settled with a nod and held my hand over my mouth until it passed.

Yamamoto blinked at me as we started walking in a vague direction away from school, him taking the social cue to walk with me since I was still slightly facing him.

Pleasantly sociable fellow.

"Um - on second thought, maybe you should just stay at your place? You look like you could fall asleep standing up." He frowned down at me slightly, uncertain.

I snorted a little. "Do I look that bad?"

The tall teen immediately dithered. "Er, not that you - I mean, you just look...sleepy?" He paused, then laughed nervously.

I just plain laughed, albeit somewhat weakly, and waved my hand dismissively, shaking my head.

"It's fine - I'd much rather you be honest."

He looked somewhat relieved and sighed a little, rubbing the back of his head with this hand. "I've seen some girls get really mad when you tell them they look tired," he sheepishly justified his alarm.

I nodded sagely. "This is the age when most girls start to take greater care of their appearance, after all. And looking tired means that they don't look their best."

"I think what someone should be concerned about if they look tired is getting more sleep, though..." Yamamoto stated. He was wearing a mildly bewildered frown, looking like he really didn't understand the logic in girls' thoughts.

I huffed a laugh.

I digressed, "Really, though," I gave his shoulder a light pat, "I'm fine. I'll just drink some coffee soon and make sure to go to sleep at a reasonable time tonight. I'll be good as new by morning." Roughly.

_Should I ask...?_

"So..." I started. Yamamoto blinked at my hesitance. "Me aside...How are you, lately?"

"Me?" He tilted his head at me. "I'm fine." Obligatory smile.

I pursed my lips. Well, he sounded honest, but...

I must have had a look on my face, because his expression shifted like he understood that that wasn't the sort of answer I was looking for.

I tried to give a "no pressure" kind of vibe, only watching him out of the corner of my eye. Despite that, I was hyper vigilant of any changes in him. I was vaguely Assessing his heartbeat and rate of perspiration, watching out for any signs that I needed to back off and not pursue the topic that I hadn't yet verbally breached.

Yamamoto acted cheerful and light-hearted, and mostly carefree. For the most part, I think he is. Happy and helpful for the sake of others. Smiling and laughing and joking for the sake of others. And I didn't think that it was anything other than genuine.

But he had been poised to freaking jump off a three story building not that long ago.

Disregarding the question of whether or not he actually wanted to stop living, the fact that he was threatening to end his life in the manner that he did points to a severe feeling of desperation, if nothing else. He, as far as I knew for the short time I've known him, hadn't overtly threatened suicide or so much as talked about it prior to that incident, which lead me to believe that he hadn't been simply acting out that day.

Whatever caused that, he was in a very dark place, if only for less than a day. Despite what people on the outside see, things like that don't just pop up out of nowhere. It's gradual, sometimes unnoticed until the situation reaches a tipping point like it did on the roof.

Likewise, things and feelings like that don't just disappear, either.

To the point: it outwardly looks like he's no longer in that dark place. I didn't know him at all before that incident, so I can't say that he's "back to normal," but he doesn't seem suicidal, anymore.

Then again, he didn't seem suicidal before he stood at the edge of the roof, either.

It seems that he's showing _real_ smiles since then, though. Smiles that actually appear of their own accord, from within his heart, as opposed to smiles because others expect him to or want him to or need him to smile. Or even smiles that _he_ needed to display for _himself_. He's, more often now, smiling because he's happy, not happy because he's smiling.

I've been around _a lot_ of people. I can read them. And that's the impression I get from Yamamoto Takeshi, after a lot of concerned thought.

Despite that, though...

...I couldn't actually know unless I asked.

That said, I also couldn't know if I _should_ ask without asking about _that_. So I danced close enough to the subject without actually mentioning it that Yamamoto could know what I was really asking. The last thing I wanted to do was hit him over the head with it if he wasn't ready to talk.

He was silent for several more seconds. Rather than looking closed off, he seemed like he was considering how to give a more satisfactory answer.

He suddenly clarified, with the barest hint of discomfort and strain that one would likely not even notice had they not been attuned to it, "Lately?"

_Thin ice._

I shrugged, glancing forward. "Yeah."

I looked back to him when I felt his eyes move away. His eyes flicked up to the sky in thought. He blinked once. I only then noticed how subtly tense he had gotten when he suddenly relaxed, still looking at the crystal clear sky like it had given him the answer.

He smiled. I could tell immediately that it was a smile from the inside. Not a toothy grin, but a smile that was vaguely satisfied, or content. I could tell by his eyes, like brown sugar mixed in honey, that, for a split second, reflected the clarity of the sky that day.

And then he looked down at me, and his smile turned crooked.

"Lately," _there's_ the toothy grin, "I'm okay." His voice was open.

I briefly tilted my head.

Then I gave a small, pleased smile. I jerked my head in a nod, satisfied.

"Good."

...

...

"Now all we need is to fix Tsuna's self-confidence and Gokudera's inability to play nicely with others," I grumped.

Yamamoto gave a sudden bark of laughter.

Even though I was entirely serious.

"Oh, speaking of Gokudera," Yamamoto mentioned once he stopped laughing. "I thought of inviting him to study, too..."

I hummed, furrowing my brows in thought. And maybe wrinkled my nose a little.

"Well, he's certainly good at math, too."

He nodded. "That's what I thought. And I figured he wouldn't refuse as long as it'll help Tsuna."

I snorted. "He'd agree in a heartbeat if Tsuna were involved." I tilted my head at Yamamoto's slightly uncertain look. "But...?" I urged.

The boy laughed habitually. "Well, I guess I avoided it and found you first," he confessed, looking guilty.

I blinked. "Why'd you avoid asking him?" I tilted my head the other direction.

He looked like he wanted to squirm like a kid under interrogation.

I tilted my head the other direction.

"I don't think he likes me very much, you know?"

**"**_**Ooooh.**_**" **So _that_ was it. Then I blinked twice before laughing. "You must've noticed that he's like that to everyone, right?"

"Not with Tsuna."

_Well... _I frowned thoughtfully. "Or with Maman, actually..." I conceded.

Yamamoto blinked curiously.

"'Maman'?"

...

...

"A-anyways, don't worry too much about him not liking you or anything like that!" I coughed into my hand, turning my head, sure that my stupid cheeks were pink.

_Why does my subconscious not drop that nickname?!_

"Tsuna's the only exception, and Tsuna's mom is...well, Gokudera isn't _that_ much of a brat. Plus no one can really dislike Tsuna's mom."

"So that's who you meant."

"_Anyways,_ don't take Gokudera's apparent dislike to heart- I get a feeling that he's just not honest with himself. Although you should still be careful about his temper."

It seemed Yamamoto might make it a habit to laugh at things I said quite seriously.

"You mean make sure that the two of you don't fight too much?"

_Twitch._

I rounded on him to tell him how it was _all that freaking Siamese cat's fault_ but lost the wind from my metaphorical sails when I saw he already had his hands up in defense.

"I'm joking! I'm joking!"

I huffed and crossed my arms, unaware that I was basically pouting.

"Ah."

I turned at Yamamoto's sudden word, glaring, but I let up and raised an eyebrow when I saw the sheepish look on his face.

"I don't actually know how to contact Gokudera outside of school."

* * *

I glowered at the number 20 on the door I was standing in front of. As soon as I got to the apartment complex I had stomped just past my door and started glaring at the entrance to Gokudera's small place of residence. I walked straight home, so it was still just after school and I honestly didn't really know where else to look.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

_"Just knock on the door."_

I squinted at the rat on my shoulder.

**"Shut up," **I muttered.

Though I complied. I was a little too polite to kick the door down right off the bat.

_Knock knock knock._

_"Go away."_

Was all I heard through the door.

_Twitch._

I grit my teeth. "Oi!" I called, irritated two words into the conversation.

I frowned as I heard a curse. _"Now I'm definitely not opening the fucking door!"_

_Twitch._

"What the hell?!"

_"Go away!"_

"I'll kick the damn _door down_, you shithead!"

I heard a louder, definitely Italian curse, and hurried footsteps before the door swung open to reveal a severely inconvenienced-looking Gokudera, who was still in his uniform.

"What the fuck do you want?!"

I ignored him and stared below his arm and into his home.

_It was more messy than mine._

Just at a glance into the kitchen I could see a full trash can, a few papers of some kind spilling out from the sitting room/bedroom/tatami room, and I thought I saw a glimpse of dirty clothes peeking out of the bathroom like a shy, sentient wad of garment.

When I leaned to the side to get a better look, Gokudera cursed again before stepping out of his apartment, pushing me back and out of the way. He slammed the door.

"_What _do you _want?_" He repeated.

I gaped at him in disbelief.

"You've been here less than two weeks!"

He growled, "What are you even _talking _about?"

I pointed over his shoulder. "Have you even _seen_ the inside of that place?!"

He twitched violently before smacking my arm away from him. "What are you even _here_ for?!"

I blinked, having honestly forgotten the purpose of this exchange after bearing witness to the slice of hell that was the teenage boy's living space. The silverette twitched (again) in irritation at my change in demeanor.

"You should come to Tsuna's house in the next forty or so minutes," I informed him, skipping to the point: Tsuna.

The boy's entire attitude changed at the mention of Tsuna, and I fought a roll of the eyes.

"The Tenth's? _Of course_ I'll go, if it's for the Tenth, but why?" He demanded.

"To make sure he and Yamamoto do well with their make up homework."

He twitched again. "The baseball freak?" He grumbled, mostly to himself, "Why does _he_ need to be there...?"

I didn't resist the eye roll this time. Yamamoto must have been right about the calcium thing that one time. The silverette didn't wait for any kind of response - not sure he expected one.

"I definitely can't leave this matter to _you two_," he declared, some stupid form of motivation taking over that _might _have actually been admirable had the specific words not pissed me off.

My eyebrow ticked.

"Okay, mild offense taken," I mumbled offhandedly, though it was ignored.

A little more offense taken.

"Less than an hour, right?" He again didn't wait for an answer as he turned on his heel and rushed back inside, slamming the door behind him.

...

...

_"Well, at least it wasn't difficult to convince him to come," _Hina quipped.

I threw my head back and heaved a long-suffering sigh.

* * *

_**3rd person, omniscient**_

The doorbell of the Sawada household was rung with a push of Yamamoto's finger.

A patter of footsteps followed after a brief delay, and the front door was opened by a cheerful looking Tsunayoshi. About to offer a generic "hello," Tsuna blinked in surprise when he noticed that his failure-buddy hadn't come alone.

"Gokudera-kun, too?"

The Italian beamed at the acknowledgement. "I heard and decided to come help, Juudaime!"

"O-oh..." Tsuna trailed off when he finally noticed something out of place and bright red on top of the low wall surrounding his home. That, and an arm...

Mild horror dawned on his face when he recognized this as another person.

"And - Kay...lin?"

He didn't quite know what to say...

His American friend was leaning on the wall with her head resting on the top, one arm draped over the surface like someone who had just barely survived nearly drowning at sea during high tide, clinging on to a rocky shore and completely overtaken with exhaustion.

At hearing her name, the red hair shifted and Kaylin blew her fringe out of her face with a huff. She waved her visible arm vaguely in her friend's direction in greeting, a sleepy half-grin on her face.

**"Surprise~!"**

Tsuna sweatdropped. "A-all of you came? N-not that I'm not happy..." It's just that their female friend looked ready to fall over.

Like, literally fall over.

Tsuna jumped a little when he felt a sudden weight on his head, knowing immediately who it was.

"I would have called them all over, anyways," the infant hitman said.

He'd invite people over to _Tsuna's _house without permission?

...Well, it wasn't like he hadn't done it before.

"What, I had to deal with Gokudera's grumpy teenage attitude when I didn't have to?" Kaylin lazily gestured towards said cranky teenager.

"Oi!"

"You could have told me, Reborn!" She whined.

The baby pointedly ignored her, much to Gokudera's amusement.

"But look, Baka-Tsuna. Your family organized themselves to come help you. Isn't that great?" Although Reborn didn't sound very impressed. Maybe more pleased that the effort he needed to expend was lessened.

Before Tsuna could get angry at Reborn's use of the word "family," Yamamoto chimed with a grin, "Well, I failed, too. That's why these two are here." He jerked his thumb in the direction of the foreigners to his right. "Now we have the combined skills of at least a hundred people."

Both perfect score-bearers grew varying degrees of flustered, though Kaylin wound up snickering when Gokudera played off how he was secretly pleased with the compliment with a typical "hmph."

Reborn resisted rolling his eyes, though a very mild impatience could be heard in his squeaky voice. "Enough playing around in the heat. Let's head to Tsuna's room and work on his crappy grades."

"O-oi, Reborn..."

* * *

Kaylin had quickly taken to making herself more or less at home on her side of the kotatsu, farthest from the door. Her face was pressed to the surface of the table, and she, along with Gokudera and Tsuna, were watching closely as Yamamoto easily jotted down the work to this particular math problem. However, Kaylin was honestly struggling to retain mental clarity, at this moment.

Hina pressed her paw to her human's nose, and Kaylin sluggishly handed the grey and brown rodent a piece of dried fruit from some recess of the backpack she'd brought along. The rat nibbled contentedly as the redhead gently scratched behind her ear.

"Amazing..." Tsunayoshi mumbled as he stared at his supposed failure buddy's work.

Yamamoto's focus shifted and he huffed a laugh.

"It's actually pretty easy if I just read the textbook."

Gokudera grumbled something under his breath and snatched Yamamoto's worksheet from under his hands. He scrutinized the question on the paper and the baseball player's work below it with razor-sharp and critical eyes. He was looking for any kind of mistake, really, that he could call Yamamoto out for, but he was quickly placed somewhere between astonishment and irritation.

"It...It's right..." He muttered.

Kaylin momentarily blinked her daze away to give an unladylike snort.

"So it's your own fault you failed, then," she lethargically grumbled, though she was more vaguely amused than anything, evident by the upward twitch of her lips.

"K-Kaylin..." Tsuna sweatdropped. He couldn't reprimand her any further even if he had any intention to, because she soon slipped even deeper into a half-conscious daze than she was in before.

No words filtered into her brain until she was suddenly jerked back into reality for a brief moment by a burst of pointed laughter from Gokudera. Her barely breathed whisper of a comment of, "This is freaking ridiculous..." went widely ignored. Limb-numbing fatigue abrutptly won out over her willpower, and without even realizing that she was moving, the redhead instinctively scooted backwards and left. She turned to fold her arms over top of Tsuna's mattress and tucked her face into the cradle made.

She mumbled something into her impromptu pillow that may not have even been words, and was asleep in about a second.

"Kei-chan, do you think you can - er..."

Both Tsuna and Gokudera glanced up when Yamamoto trailed off. The tall boy blinked over to Tsuna's right, prompting both other boys to respectively turn or lean over to finally notice -

_Deadpan._

"...Kay...lin?" Tsuna blinked owlishly at the state of his female friend: breath slow and even, curled into the side of his bed, face hidden under her arms as well as the small blanket of her fringe, which regularly shifted with Kaylin's soft puffs of breath.

...

His chick friend had just completely crashed on his bed.

"The fumes she was running on seem to have run out," Reborn idly observed from his place by the window.

The silver-haired Italian teen irritably 'tch'd. "What did she even bother coming for?"

* * *

_**1st person, Kei-chan**_

_I cursed irritably as I dug a bullet out of the fresh hole in my side. I sat in the midst of wounded and dying, medics running about, tending to those who still had a chance of making it home, and occasionally easing the suffering of those who didn't._

_It was a massacre._

_I hissed as the bullet finally flew from my torso and clinked to the ground. Finally my healing process sped up to it's proper pace. The bullet would have been pushed out soon enough, more or less going in reverse as my body stitched itself back together like it always did, but having a bullet traveling through your flesh in slow motion is pretty painful. And this was faster._

_I watched the wound bleed less and less for a few seconds longer, gaze neither pleased nor disgusted. As I pulled my shirt back down, I glanced around at the people in my vicinity through the fringe that had fallen out of the French braid I used for jobs._

_I couldn't really say no one else was disgusted, either, though._

_Several people that I made eye contact with averted their gaze quickly. Perhaps they were new to operations of this scale. It was a plain fact that a wide range of mafioso had heard of me, and many had seen my peculiar habit of never dying or losing any noticeable amount of stamina, despite being shot, stabbed, and occasionally bludgeoned, among other things._

_My eyes continued to flit from person to person. I didn't distrust these people like I would an enemy, but I was wary out of habit. No matter how "good" the Vongola and affiliates were in the underground, mafia was mafia. Always._

_Including me._

_And everyone else knew it, too._

_Whispers of "not human" and "that should have killed her" filtered in and out of my attention._

_"Stay clear."_

_"Did you see how many she took out?"_

_"At least she's on our side..."_

_"...the way her hand just tore through -"_

"...want candy!"

_" - normal person would have died of blood loss..."_

_"...the higher ups let someone like that run around allies..."_

"...bo-san his _candy!_"

_**Whap!**_

"Oi, Lambo!"

I shot straight up and clutched the side of my head, caught completely off guard by the assault of...

"You promised Lambo-san candy!"

I blinked owlishly at the five year old standing on Tsuna's bed, nearly eye-level with me and glaring at me with his big green eyes, jamming his little pointer finger nearly into my face.

...By the assault of a temperamental Italian child.

"Will you _settle down,_ you stupid cow?!"

...The one with the afro, not the pubescent one.

"S-sorry, Kaylin! He was making a racket before we even realized he was here..." Tsuna trailed off when I continued to stare blankly at Lambo, still struggling out of a haze of disorientation.

I blinked _slowly_ and turned to stare at Tsuna for a second, who blinked a few times back.

"E-er..." He trailed off again. My fuzzy brain ignored him as my eyes flitted elsewhere. My gaze found Gokudera who was scowling at me in distaste. I blinked _slowly_. His eyebrow twitched and he mumbled something under his breath. He looked like he'd chuck something at my head if I didn't stop looking at him like that. My attention shifted again.

I blinked _slowly_. Wasn't Y-

My neck nearly cracked from the force of a five year-old tackling my face.

Oh. Right.

"_Lambo!" _Tsuna scolded. I think Gokudera snorted, instead.

I tried to pry Lambo off of my head with one hand and waved vaguely in the direction of my bag, which I had sat between Tsuna and I when we started studying.

"Tsuna - bag -" I managed to mumbled around the cow child.

"Huh - a-ah, here..." He (Tsuna, presumably) placed the handle of my bag where my fingers brushed it. I quickly pulled it to me, giving up on detaching Lambo and blindly dug through the contents until I felt the plastic wrapper and long stick of a sucker. I yanked it out and held it up by my head, where Lambo could see.

A muffled, "Here -" from me.

Lambo squealed in delight and snatched the candy from me, launched himself from my face and _out the window_ for some reason, leaving me gasping for air and blinking rapidly.

I pushed my fringe out of my face as Gokudera scoffed. I squinted at him.

"Why would you go and promise that brat candy?"

I shrugged. "Bribery." Tsuna twitched.

"I'd personally approach an annoyance like that more directly," Reborn's squeaky voice chimed in from behind me.

I saw Tsuna twitch before I turned to blink sleepily at the infant hitman. "Violence isn't a legitimate approach to dealing with children!" Tsuna (attempted) to scold in disbelief. Reborn gave a small snort but didn't seem like he could be bothered to verbally disagree.

I blinked when my eyes finally flicked to the window.

I blinked again.

Then, twice more.

When...did it get dark outside...? Something in my stomach curdled.

I asked the unsurprisingly calm infant, "Er, when did I fall asleep?"

"Roughly three and a half hours ago," he answered immediately and nonchalantly.

I groaned quietly and rubbed my temples in frustration. When did my stamina get so -

My shoulders stiffened as I grimaced, mind going to the obvious answer. How _does_ a hitman's stamina get so remarkably low?

They get taken out of the game for a couple years.

...And get sick.

_Now's not the time,_ I told myself. Perhaps an excuse.

But.

I sighed once more before turning back to the two younger teens. Tsuna just looked exhausted, whereas Gokudera just looked irritated. Well, and a little tired. I couldn't say that I was surprised that his irritation was directed at me. I blearily watched him, waiting to hear about whatever I'd done this time, though there was an obvious conclusion to be drawn, here.

Gokudera all too happily obliged in enlightening me.

"You make a point of coming here and wind up falling asleep after thirty minutes! _On the Tenth's bed!"_

Tsuna developed the tiniest flush. "I-it was really just her arms -"

"What do you have to say for yourself?!" Gokudera demanded. Tsuna gave a resigned sigh at the interruption and slumped. He glanced up at me, though, looking wary of a possible altercation.

I _did_ consider snapping back at him, but honestly...

I wasn't really feeling it.

Instead I sighed and propped my elbow up on the edge of Tsuna's bed, leaning cheek on my hand.

"First of all: granted, Reborn planned on you being here, so you would have wound up here whether I told you about this or not, but I _did_ tell you. Myself. On purpose." Gokudera's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't say anything. "Second of all: you had it covered, right?" Said silverette twitched again and an altogether funny look was plastered over his irritated one.

I rolled my eyes like the teenager I was. Not spazzing was a little out of character for me, sure, but geez. I didn't grow an extra head.

"Did you finish all of the questions correctly?" I directed the question at Tsuna, who straightened and blinked.

"Well, yeah." His eyes moved towards the ceiling, looking suddenly haggard. "Eventually..."

I raised an eyebrow. I wondered, but... something in the subtle look of remembered horror on Tsuna's face made me reluctant to find out.

And I guessed it was safe to assume Yamamoto had simply left when they had finished.

Anyways, I continued: "See? No harm done, in the end," I assured both Gokudera _and_ myself.

It wasn't as if I _expected_ myself to fall asleep again...

Luckily no one seemed to see the flash of worry cross my face again.

I apparently really needed to get my shit together.

* * *

If anyone were to ask me how I wound up walking with both Yamamoto and Gokudera the next morning, I'd blame Tsuna. It seemed that we'd all begun to gravitate toward him, naturally seeking him out. After a few minutes we collectively figured he'd already left for school.

Astoundingly enough, I managed to get some sleep after that study session that I wound up avoiding participation in. At least four hours' worth, though I had another dream of the more...willfully violent part of my past. To be honest, I'd been having many since I left _that place_ in Italy.

They...made me tired.

Mercifully, the most recent dream was as uneventful as the one I'd had the evening before, so much so that they blurred together into a montage of bullets, blood, and pain.

...Okay, thinking about it now, it's not exactly "uneventful." But at this point in my life, blood splashing up to my elbows wasn't particularly traumatizing, anymore.

I glanced down at my hands as the three of us walked the route we figured Tsuna would take to school, a reminiscent frown on my face.

Though no one else could see them, and though I knew they weren't really there, I could still glimpse the stains that were on both hands, no matter much I washed them the first few times. I occasionally remembered the flecks of red that once marred my face when I was still young and sloppy. My skin still felt...tainted.

But despite all of that... my hands hadn't felt this clean in years. Not since _before._

"Kei-chan?"

My gaze snapped back forward, then sideways, my musings abruptly forgotten. Yamamoto was looking down at me curiously, head tilted.

"**What?**What?" I had to repeat myself. I did that so often I thought my friends were learning a few English phrases. And curses.

"You were frowning," the tall boy pointed out.

"Huh? Oh, that." I huffed a laugh and shook my head once. "I was just thinking, is all." I fussed with the wristband below my elbow unconsciously.

Yamamoto very slightly furrowed his brows, one just a little lower than the other. I noted that the Italian just rolled his eyes, but squinted at me from the side.

Ignoring Gokudera, I waved a hand at the baseball player's concerns as if to physically brush them away. "Just, you know, thinking about _stuff _\- I can't even remember what it was, anymore. Don't worry about it," I assured him. Hell. I must have still been pretty groggy to let something like that show on my face.

For some reason, I really didn't want to elaborate further. At all. It felt like I'd have to force the words out of my mouth, even if I wanted to say them.

...Weird.

I didn't get a chance to immediately investigate these feelings, though.

"W-w-_wait!_"

A familiar voice wailed in a slightly higher-than-normal level of distress, and my small group's collective attention was dragged a block and a half or so forward.

"Arguing is futile!"

It - what?

"Juudaime?"

"Tsuna?"

Who else has hair that fuzzy?

"Hold it!" Was that a hockey stick?

"Stop chasing me!"

_"Hold it!" _And a...what do you even call that? Sports armor?

Oh, shit.

With varying cries of shared distress and dismay, we three subordinates took off at a rough sprint. Well, it changed to a full-on sprint once Gokudera threw _dynamite. _I was so focused on trying to take stock of what was happening to Tsuna that I didn't even get a chance to try and stop him.

"What the _fuck_?!" My cry even managed to get Tsuna's attention from a block away. His head snapped in our direction and I could see the palpable relief from here. Until he had to duck under a wide hockey stick swing aimed at his head. So much inertia was behind that swing that the aggressor couldn't seem to stop themselves from spinning several times.

Whoever that was didn't even know what they were doing, did they?

And some _idiot_ threw _dynamite_ -

"Juudaime! Please dodge!"

I thought I would have kicked him in the fuckin' knee had I not been on mafia probation.

Luckily, the arc from a throw at that distance was rather high, and Tsuna actually did have time to get out of the way of both the immediate impact and the blast radius, but -

We rounded the corner as the smoke cleared, Tsuna jogging forward to meet us.

I saw that Tsuna was clearly unharmed with a once over. Something was very clearly missing, though, and my gaze flitted around looking for it - _them._

No one else was on the bridge.

I paled at the same time Tsuna made an intuitive leap, and we both ran the short distance to the railing of the bridge hanging over the man-made river. We spotted her (definitely a her) just as she cried out.

Tsuna made a panicked noise while I bristled and cursed violently.

Everything snapped into focus.

A civilian in heavy clothing just got blasted into a fucking river on my watch and I was just gaping uselessly.

It all happened so _fast -_

Instinct hit me like a hammer.

I hurriedly shrugged off my bag, Hina sensing my intentions and scampering down my arm from where she was hiding under my shirt. I saw Tsuna's desperate look in the corner of my eye.

Blood pounding in my ears (it had been a long time since I last swam - could I even beat the current?) I grabbed the railing with both hands and prepared to vault over, not even considering that there were better people for the job right behind me (star athlete of the school who _doesn't _occasionally hack up his lungs).

I didn't notice any of the alarmed looks behind me.

"Wait, Kaylin." I stopped mid-bounce as a squeaky voice snatched my attention. "Tsuna will save her."

_Both_ Tsuna and I began to protest, but faster than I could react, Reborn's pistol was already smoking. I felt the breeze of a bullet whizzing past my head. The little hitman hopped past me and gave Tsuna a solid kick to send him tumbling over the railing and towards the river.

Not a split second after my boss' Dying Will Flame sprung into existence, two more shots rang out.

I had to remind myself not to question the Vongola special bullets.

Tsuna hit the water like an Olympic swimmer and was halfway to the girl before I even regained my senses.

I cursed again.

I hauled my bag back onto my shoulder, Hina holding on for dear life, and tore around Gokudera and Yamamoto, who had moved to the railing in both alarm and surprise when Tsuna went over. I sprinted to the end of the bridge, grabbed the railing and used my momentum to turn and fly down the stairs.

Tsuna got to the girl well before his flame wore out, so perhaps I didn't need to rush so much, but he'll need a little help helping _her_ back onto dry land. And she might have swallowed water or something, and while I didn't _strictly_ know CPR or mouth-to-mouth, I got the gist in _theory_ and that might have to be enough -

I shook myself out of my mild freak-out when Tsuna made it to the edge of the water, carrying the - was she familiar, or...? - girl in his arms, she holding on to his shoulders for dear life.

"Here - gimme your arms," I told the girl - familiar - while holding out my own. She was shaking a little as she complied, prying her fingers off of Tsuna. I crouched, reaching out for her, and grabbed her upper arms as firmly as I could. She mirrored me, grip near vice-like, and I used my weight to heave her out of the water. I couldn't avoid dumping her onto the concrete beside me, but she was safe.

While she collapsed onto her hands and knees, perhaps a little in shock, Tsuna returned to normal, his dying will having been fulfilled.

Unfortunately, he was still in the water, and he struggled to pull himself over the ledge. I held my hands out to him, now, and he gratefully grabbed one, and then the other. I pulled him up and forward until he could swing his leg over the edge of the river, then he scrambled up more or less by himself.

Yamamoto and Gokudera skidded to a halt just behind me.

"Juudaime!" The silverette crouched by his boss, only sparing a glance to the poor girl now that she was on dry land.

Like this wasn't his fault to _begin _with.

Seeing that Tsuna was taken care of, both Yamamoto and I turned to -

_Holy shit that's the girl that was calling Tsuna out._

No fucking_ wonder._

The baseball player wordlessly produced a towel from his school bag - handy fellow. I took it and kneeled by... Haru? I thought that was it. It was pretty and easy to remember, after all. I put a gentle hand on her shoulder and held the white towel where she could see it.

"Here," I offered.

She blinked at it a few times before shakily taking it from my hand. I gave her a little space, but stayed right beside her.

Tsuna seemed exasperated, but worried, and assured Gokudera that he was fine before moving to stand beside us, his right hand following close behind him.

"We should probably get her out of that heavy stuff," Yamamoto said, looking to me.

I would have sighed had I not just exceeded my rightful quota of adrenaline for the week, being off-duty and all.

Instead, I only ran a hand through my fringe before getting to work.

* * *

Haru was dried enough, soon, and sat huddled under the bridge. I imagined the poor thing had been terrified.

I had done what I could to offer some kind of comfort, but it seemed like she still needed her space. She wasn't shaking or anything, and didn't seem to be in shock, so I let her be.

The boys were just generally concerned, sticking around to make sure she was okay, like I was. Well, Gokudera gave his attention to whatever had Tsuna's attention, anyways. Not like he'd leave without his Juudaime without a good reason.

Yamamoto said something and Tsuna bantered back for, like, _one_ second, and then Haru rose from the dead and sprung into action

She had the most peculiar of looks on her face, too.

I was _just_ about to speculate like a nosy shrew when a familiar voice was heard.

"Tsuna-kun?"

Well, this just got a tad complicated. And maybe a little funny.

Haru was getting rather excited, jumping around and cheering, and I mean I was glad that she was up to doing that after near drowning, but Kyoko (and Hana, I noted) were coming around the corner of the stairs, and Tsuna was starting to look a little panicky.

Oh, dear.

Tsuna sputtered Kyoko's name and looked between her and his new fan (whose enthusiasm was steadily increasing) with dismay.

Though my mouth quirked, I tried my best to conceal my amusement at my hapless boss' (friend's) situation. I thought maybe I could manhandle Haru a few feet away from Tsuna's direction and took a half-step forward to do so when she, against _all odds,_ exploded into even more animation.

She lunged at Tsuna with open arms. My jaw dropped and I twitched to help him, but he performed a rather masterful dodge and... well, fled.

Gokudera, of course, scowled, and Yamamoto and I blinked surprise and amusement.

"Well, who'd have thought..." I muttered under my breath.

After a moment of evading Haru's, er, advances, Tsuna was (literally) driven up a wall, and I felt inclined to help him, which I would have, had I not been stopped in my tracks by a chill shooting up my spine.

My head snapped around to look at the top of the bridge we were under, and I nearly grimaced and flinched simultaneously.

Looking down his nose at the little group that had formed was _him, _ perhaps the only fifteen year old on the planet that puts me on edge. I'd only heard whispers about the name "Hibari" and a certain "Disciplinary Committee" because I, for _some fucking reason,_ didn't properly look into this kid when I really, _really_ should have.

Considering how easily he found a reason to swing at me when I was late for school before (wasn't even my fault, dammit), I half expected him to leap down from on high and smite us all.

Not that I'd let him, if it came to it.

Our eyes locked, and we were at a standoff. He had an appraising look in his eye that made me twitchy, like he was deciding whether or not I was worthy prey.

Normally, such a notion (_me_ being someone's _prey_, after all I've powered through - and after what had happened) would royally piss me off, but god_damn_ this kid just gave such bad vibes, I was too busy watching every twitch of his muscles for some sign that he would break the stare and _pounce._

But then he smirked. And stalked off.

I exhaled. While the rational part of me was relieved, another part of me was frustrated with pent-up aggression. My mouth twitched into a frown as soon as _he_ was out of sight, and I turned back around. I glanced around. Nobody else had noticed him.

Except -

Reborn smirked, too, eyeing me in amusement, no doubt having watched the entire exchange.

I scowled at him, but didn't say anything.

It wasn't like he was _wrong_ to keep an eye on me.

...

Cheeky little shit.

* * *

**A/N**

**Well, this is definitely less than I wanted to stick in this chapter. I kind of wanted an omake or something here. I think I'll post what I have now, just to update, and then add the omake soon enough. I'll give you a heads up in the next chapter if I edit this one, yeah? I just figured I owe you guys **_**something**_** by now.**

**Somebody tell me if the Haru-and-the-river scene was rushed, because I KNOW IT WAS AND I'M SO SORRY I JUST HAD TO GET IT OVER WITH BECAUSE I WAS SO STUCK AND - ugh i don't even wanna**

**ggnnnn**

**I **_**was**_** planning a field trip next chapter, to a certain nerd paradise, but... Should I just move on with the story?**

**OH, OH, I KNOW!**

**I'll have Kei take a vaca - u kno wat**

**it's a surprise but i just thought of something that would work in my favor, i think.**

**Less rehashing of things you undoubtedly have already seen.**

**Let's see, though, who's next...? Ah, right.**

**Hibari.**

***rubs palms together* hehehehehe**


	12. A Carnivore and a Carnivore

Mutt: Let's get right back into it!

Mutt: Or should I say...

Kei: Don't you fucking da -

Mutt: Let's get _write_ back into it.

Kei: ...

Goku: That was fucking disgusting.

Tsuna: Er...Kaylin?

Kei: ... *silence gets progressively more aggressive*

Tsuna: Uhh...

Mutt: Blame Sans.

Tsuna &amp; Goku: Eh?

Mutt: Don't worry about it. Same generic **Disclaimer** as always, don't be a dick, okay? Now, let's move on before Kei-chan breaks one or all of my fingers and I can't write, anymore, yeah?

**[ READ THE NOTE AT THE BOTTOM, GUYS, OKAY THANKS ]**

**/\/\/\/**

_**1st person, Kaylin**_

"Ara, Kaylin-chan?"

I halted mid-step in my jog, tipping backwards a bit to blink in the direction of the familiar voice. The early morning sun made me squint slightly.

"Oh. Kyoko." That's surprising. Now that I looked around, I wasn't quite sure where I was. I had taken to regularly going on jogs of a morning. Out of caution, they were _significantly_ shorter than that first jog that had knocked me out for half a day, and thusly much less straining, but I was slowly, slowly, rebuilding my lost stamina. I hadn't tasted any blood due to overexertion for a while, 's partly due to rather lax days, though, I imagined.

I didn't have a set route, yet, and used my jogs to explore Namimori little by little. While I wasn't quite sure where I was at any given moment on said jogs, I was generally able to find Namichuu easily enough, it being rather central in the city.

This morning, it seemed I found myself near Kyoko's neck of the woods.

I blinked as Kyoko seemed to deliberate for just a moment before visibly coming to some kind of conclusion, which had her making her way over to me from where she spotted me in a way that seemed disproportionately resolute.

I wiped my forehead with the wristband below my elbow and curiously waited for her as she jogged over.

"Good morning, Kaylin-chan!" Tsuna's crush chirped, smiling sweetly.

I didn't dislike the girl, and she was important to Tsuna (said boy never actually _said_ that he was crushing on her, but I had enough common sense to notice), so I reciprocated the pleasantries.

"Morning, Kyoko." I tilted my head and smirked teasingly. "You're pretty chipper this early in the morning."

She seemed surprisingly pleased with my response. "It's such a nice morning, after all," she beamed at me.

Geez. I thought the sun was bright, but here _she_ is, giving it a run for its money. I couldn't help but give her a small, genuine smile back. She radiates nothing but good will.

She fiddled with the handle of her school bag for a moment, and it struck me that she looked just a little nervous. It was true, we'd never had a proper conversation before. Then again, I'd never had a proper conversation with the majority of my classmates.

It seemed like she wanted to say something, so I tilted my head and waited patiently. Ah, such a tender age.

"If you'd like - " She looked me in they eye, leaning forward slightly in her earnestness. I blinked and straightened. "If you'd like, Kaylin-chan, if I'm not interrupting your jog terribly, would you like to walk to school together?"

I blinked again. She pursed her lips and waited for my response.

That. Well, wasn't what I was expecting, but -

"O-okay?"

She should come with a warning label for that thousand-watt smile of hers, holy hell.

"I'm glad!" _She is? _"We've never really gotten to talk before, but I was _sure_ you seemed like a nice person!" _She was?_

"You were?"

Kyoko nodded resolutely. "Mhm! Some of our classmates think you're scary, but I can tell that you're actually a good person." She had an almost comically serious look on her face, with a little wrinkle between her eyebrows.

"Y-you think so...?"

"I do! You've stood up for Tsuna-kun before, and I've heard you say you've helped him study before - " It was then that she put on a thinking face, holding her index finger to her chin. " - And, even though he's nice to everyone, Yamamoto-kun seems to like you, and Hana-chan doesn't think you're annoying - which is impressive! - and Saya-chan and Haruka-chan talked about how - "

At that point I was rather stunned, as well as something between embarrassed and flattered, and she _still_ kept rattling off things that apparently made me a good person. I couldn't tell if she was surprisingly observant or just picking at straws. Or maybe her social circle was just that impressive?

My assent to walk with her was apparently all she needed to open the floodgates of middle-school-girl chattering. I quickly learned that she was a ray of sunshine even away from a crowd, as well. A very short while after we started moving, she tentatively began asking questions.

"Kaylin-chan is from America, right?" I nodded, and I could just see the inquisitiveness leaking from her ears. "You've been here for a while, but is this your first time in Japan?" Another nod. "There must be a lot of culture shock, then!"

_Girl, don't get me started._

I nodded vigorously. "There is, there is! All the formality is so...stifling!" I flailed my hands, displaying my general discomfort. "I feel like a delinquent every time I talk to an adult," I complained. "And it feels like sometimes people are overly polite to me for _no _reason, it makes me twitchy!"

Kyoko, surprisingly, gave a little snort before covering her mouth with a hand and laughing. "You're as blunt as Hana-chan!"

I was honestly surprised by how quickly we fell into bantering back and forth. Talking to someone so...dainty and delicate usually made me uncomfortable pretty quickly - it just wasn't what I was used to - but Kyoko was just so..._friendly._ It was impressive, really.

At one point, she just smiled at me and said, "I knew I was right! You're not scary at all, Kaylin-chan."

I huffed and scratched my cheek, scowling at how warm I found it.

_I'm a mafioso, dammit!_

Kyoko, for some reason, giggled at the look on my face. "You've even got a cute side, too!"

I made a sound between a gasp and a squeak before I could stop myself. Even as I denied it fervently, "I-I'm not _cute _\- !" Kyoko burst into a fit of even more giggles, peals of laughter only serving to make me more indignant.

She struggled to catch her breath as she waved a hand at me, other arm clutching at her stomach. "S-Sorry, Kaylin-chan - I was only teasing!"

I was saved from further loss of my pride when Kyoko and I simultaneously blinked at something ahead of us.

"Ah, Tsuna."

"Ah, Tsuna-kun! Good morning," Kyoko beat me in greeting, as I was studying the sight before me, though the more I thought about it the less surprised I was.

The girl Tsuna had saved from drowning was there, with Tsuna, right in the midst of the boy accepting...a lunchbox? I raised my eyebrow at him, but given the way he looked like he was about to have a panic attack, I surmised that this wasn't what it looked like. Though, Kyoko might not have noticed that.

Which was hilarious. I had to bite my cheek to stop from laughing. Tsuna's eyes skittered between Kyoko and Haru before landing on me, and I was fixed with a hopeful, pleading look that would put puppies to shame. Though I was still laughing on the inside, and I was sure it was evident on my face, I shrugged in a 'well, _I_ don't know what to do' gesture.

And thus he sunk into the depths of despair.

**/\/\/\/**

Tsuna's mood, _just_ borderline of 'foul' lasted until lunchtime. But, luckily, the way a teenager's stomach was so closely linked to their brain, the promise of food placated him considerably.

"So?" Tsuna asked me around the chopsticks in his mouth as he pulled open his lunchbox (The one Haru gave him. He said it was bad to waste food.), "Why were you even with Kyoko-chan this morning?"

Gokudera was having his cigarette, and Yamamoto was eating his own lunch. I was in the middle of tearing open my first package of melon bread (of three). Squeezing my tongue between my teeth, I yanked the plastic apart at the seams with a _'pop' _before responding.

"Was it that weird?" I mused, taking a bite of the delicious _delicacy_ that was melon bread. Hina sniffled on my shoulder.

"Well, you don't usually talk to other girls in the class," Yamamoto commented mildly.

"Hm." I conceded the point. "I was about ready to head to school on my jog, apparently somewhere near Kyoko's neighborhood, and she kind of flagged me down and asked if I wanted to walk to school with her." I was still rather confused about that turn of events, and it was evident on my face. "And we kind of, you know, chatted for a while, I guess." I shrugged. "Maybe she was just curious because I'm foreign? I certainly like to think I'm more approachable than _him._" I jerked a thumb towards Gokudera.

Said silverette twitched and Yamamoto laughed.

"Well, she has a point, you know," the baseball player pointed out.

"What was that?!" Gokudera seemed to seethe on principle.

"Maa, you guys," Tsuna borrowed from Yamamoto's peacekeeper playbook, "You're _both _kind of, you know...intimidating." Tsuna grimaced a little. Since that was the image Gokudera was going for, and something I had come to terms with, neither of us disagreed. Not that Gokudera would, anyways. "But that doesn't have to be a bad thing! It's just part of your character." Poor kid looked like he only half-believed what he said.

"Mafioso are generally supposed to be scary, after all."

None of us really jumped at the surprise entrance of the squeaky voice we all instantly recognized to be Reborn.

What _did_ get us, however, was the hitman's...er, outfit. "Outfit" being loosely applied, here.

He was a...spiky chestnut. With a face.

I don't think my cheek had ever spasmed so hard. I was caught somewhere between horror, second-hand embarrassment, a vague sense of being impressed, and uncontrollable amusement. As it was, I just kind of gaped.

As per usual, Tsuna was the first to verbally greet the baby and, as per usual, it was with a mixed amount of surprise and exasperation. And a little suspicion.

"Reborn!" I imagine Tsuna's expression was pretty close to my own, but with more irritation. "What's with that costume?!" An appropriate reaction.

The appropriate response to which was apparently repeatedly jabbing Tsuna with the spikes.

"Could it be..." Gokudera half-muttered to himself. "A **'big' **_chestnut (kuri)_ is meant to be a big _surprise (bikkuri)_?"

My eyes sprang open so wide I could have cried. I snorted so hard I_ did_ cry.

"**Ow, ow**_**, **__ow - _!" I covered my face with my hands, hiding a series of snorts and chortles. "Bilingual pun..." I mumbled weakly. Oh no, the more I thought about it the funnier it got.

I paused. "_Bikkuri_..." Then started giggling again.

"No fucking shame...shitty yankee," I heard Gokudera growl.

I gasped, aghast. "You _straight-faced it! _**You fu - **you _completely _straight-faced it,though!" I cried, then proceeded to full-out laugh.

"I suppose only those who know multiple languages would appreciate humor like that. But it's a shame," Reborn said.

I sniffled, wiped away a tear, and straightened up, definitely red in the face.

Tsuna blinked down at Reborn. "A shame? Why?"

Reborn never blinks, but it felt like it should have been there.

"This is a sea urchin."

I slammed my face into my knees to keep from cracking up again.

"Bianchi made this for me when she was in middle school," the infant continued, set on ignoring me. "It's a disguise used for long-distance commuting."

"_Everyone _would notice that!"

Reborn probably shrugged. "Everyone avoids the spikes, so no one bothers me."

_'That's a fair strategy,'_ Hina remarked from by my bottom, where she likely took refuge since it was the only thing not flailing. If only her eyesight allowed her to fully appreciate this.

And, in that way of his of talking about horrible, often deadly things like they were as benign as a sunny spring day, Reborn added, "The spikes are also covered in a poison that'll send anyone to heaven in thirty seconds."

_Wh -_

Every sane person present straightened in alarm - Reborn had just jabbed Tsuna with those things a little bit ago - !

No one reacted immediately as Tsuna flopped backwards, fainted.

Reborn pulled out a stop watch.

"Hm. Forty-five. Maybe it's old," the baby muttered.

_That little shit - !_

**/\/\/\/**

"Well, at least it's not me, this time," I dryly remarked as the boys situated the unconscious Tsuna onto a sofa.

"Why, you - ! You're not even helping!" Gokudera snarked.

I rolled my eyes. "As if you need three people to carry him." Gokudera twitched, but couldn't logically find anything to be angry at with that statement.

Yamamoto wondered aloud, "To think there was a room like this in school." He stared around at the admittedly out-of-place room, and I followed suit, taking in the leather couches, potted plants, view of the pool out the window - I made an impressed humming noise.

"The reception room isn't used much," Reborn explained after having perched himself on one of the plush chairs. "The furniture is nice, and so is the view." So he agreed. "And the location is convenient, too."

I squinted. "What are you getting at?"

The baby took my suspicion in stride, of course. "This room will be the Vongola family's secret headquarters."

I blinked. _In the school?_

That was...not permanently realistic, obviously. But it was also dangerous for every student on the roster.

...I called bullshit.

...

In my head.

Yamamoto laughed in a kind of delight at Reborn's words, though.

"Oh, that's fun! Like a secret hideout." I pulled my hand across my face and gave the boys a sidelong glance when Gokudera griped.

"What are you, a freakin' kid?" _Well, yeah._ Though, as I leaned on the armrest by Tsuna's feet, Gokudera gave the room a satisfied smirk, hand on his chin. "Though, this is good. The family definitely needs a base."

I gave a quiet sigh. He was a kid, too.

Yamamoto simply smiled before turning to the windows and working them open. I had to agree: it was too nice a day not to enjoy it.

That said, however...

My neck prickled and my shoulders tensed a split second before the sliding door was thrown open in front of me.

"You there. What are you all doing here?"

And here we see a pack of vultures that will make it rather hard to enjoy said nice day.

I eyed the boys in front of me warily, not moving from my position in front of Tsuna. They were in a more traditional style of school uniform, and wore red bands on their upper arms. And...

They...all had pompadours.

...Alright, as much as I _really _didn't want to take them seriously, the looks in their eyes definitely said that they meant trouble.

"Who told you to come here?" One in front demanded.

I could _feel _Gokudera's hackles raise from behind me, though I didn't take my eyes off of the newcomers, who were all glowering at the three of us in turn. Reborn went unnoticed. Because of course he did.

"Hah? Rather, what the hell do you guys want?"

Not intimidated in the least, the boys flowed into the room like particularly flambouyant tar. Several got closer to my position than I liked, and many were decently taller than me, not even counting my half-seated state, but, still, I didn't move.

"Don't act cocky!" One of the clones spat. Seriously, they all looked alike.

_Pretty sure he can at least kick _your _ass in particular, bud._ At least in a fist fight. With his explosives, every one of them would be char.

I got a bad taste in my mouth the moment I realized that I acknowledged that kid in a fight. Dammit. This was just gonna be one of those days, wasn't it?

"This room was given to the Disciplinary Committee," the thug continued. We had a disciplinary committee? That was a thing?

The one at the front of the pack, and closest to me, finally glanced behind me, at Tsuna, and his eyes narrowed. He began to move forward, apparently ready to ignore me.

He caught my glare, however, and faltered.

"I wouldn't," I warned, voice low.

The boy sneered, obviously not taking me as seriously as he _definitely _should. Then, without preamble, he reeled his foot back and shot it out toward the side of the couch, right next to my leg.

Which was a poor, poor choice.

...Under normal circumstances.

As it was, I met his kick with my own, intercepting and absorbing the shock as much as I could, catching him in the outstretched ankle with the heel of my foot. My eyes narrowed dangerously.

'As it was.'

As it was, that was all I could do freely. Absorb impact as much as I could, minimize the threat to Tsuna and my new family.

As it was...

I was honestly itching to tear _some_body's _fucking throat out._

My voice was eerily quiet, even to me. "Ne, Reborn...?"

"I'll allow it. Just don't kill anybody."

I made sure not to let either of the boys see my face when my expression twisted into a wicked grin, teeth bared and gleaming.

Oh, yeah. Still a poor, _poor_ choice.

**/\/\/\/**

_**3rd person, omniscient(?)**_

Kaylin flipped her crimson fringe out of her face with a huff, crossing her arms under her chest.

"Feel better?" Reborn idly inquired as he finished brewing coffee.

Kaylin tilted her head as she surveyed her and her friends' work, and couldn't keep the smug grin from her face.

"**Mhm,** kinda, yeah. I do." She rolled her shoulders. She never realized how pent up she had been until after the last pompadour'd thug slumped to the ground. The fight started and ended abruptly.

While she had intended to take care of the problem by herself, she wasn't very surprised at all when Gokudera jumped in all of two seconds after she made the first real swing.

Well, it wasn't so much a "swing" as it was a takedown. She'd shot up from her position on the arm of the couch, knocking the thug off kelter by kicking off with her foot on his ankle. She took advantage of his compromised balance by hooking her foot around his grounded knee as a counter force and shoved him backwards and over by smashing her forearm into his neck. Disoriented by the blow to the windpipe and the rapidly shifting center of gravity, the back of his head smashed right into the ground, and he was out cold.

Most of the brawl was a similar series of one-hit K.O.'s.

She wasn't surprised when Gokudera jumped in, but she _was_ surprised when Yamamoto stepped in when someone started swinging around a mop like the thing was meant for fights in the first place. She honestly half-expected the baseball player to be something of a pacifist.

But, no, he didn't seem very reluctant at all to give mop-guy a hell of a left hook to the face after he caught the handle with a single hand. He then proceeded to take down the aggressors in what she would never admit was a manner faster than she did.

Considering her hand-to-hand combat tactics were counters. That, or murder.

But she was on probation, so.

As it ended, the body count was roughly even in distribution among the teens and about a dozen unconscious members of the Disciplinary Committee were heaped onto the floor, not one of them within two meters of the sleeping Tenth Boss-to-be.

"You just had to go jumping in head-first, you shitty yankee," Gokudera grumbled after Reborn announced that the coffee was done.

"Psh," Kaylin scoffed, "as if you weren't about to."

"Maa, you two," Yamamoto attempted to placate his friends, holding out two mugs of coffee in for them in each hand, hoping they'd be distracted from their own squabble. "It seemed like they were going to cause trouble, anyways. It probably wouldn't have mattered who threw the first punch."

Kaylin gave a self-righteous 'hmph,' primarily just to assert her small victory over the silverette, who _glowered_ at her in response. The girl pointedly ignored him as she took a sip of her coffee while Yamamoto grabbed his own. She smiled in very pleasant surprise and looked down at Reborn, eyes sparkling.

"You didn't leave it black!"

The infant took a loud swig of his own coffee before responding nonchalantly with, "I used an obscene and unhealthy amount of sugar in that cup, just for you."

The redhead only grinned. "Just the way I like it!"

Reborn would have sighed if it wasn't undignified. He shared an unreadable glance with Leon, instead.

Unfortunately, none of the teens put much of a dent in their portions coffee before they were interrupted again.

From the doorway sounded just about the most nonchalantly disdainful tone of voice any of the teenagers had ever heard.

"Not even useful as guard dogs..."

A young man that only one of them didn't recognize was leaning easily on the doorframe. He casually poked at the prone body of one of the Committee members with his foot, not an ounce of respect in his stature or actions.

By that time, some color had already drained from Kaylin's face, several things blazing through her mind in about a second. She made a conscious effort not to let her gaze flick towards Tsuna. She processed that her boss-in-name wasn't in the line of sight of the boy she had yet to learn the name of.

She remembered how eager to fight this boy had been during their first real encounter and preemptively sat her mug of coffee on the desk by the window. She noticed, to her mounting tension, that the dark-haired looking boy eyed the action, and then her. Vague recollection passed through his eyes.

His gaze slid smoothly between her and the boys to her side.

"Who are you?" His tone and voice matched the disinterest in his eyes perfectly.

"That's..." Yamamoto muttered, "...Hibari Kyouya." Kaylin didn't like how tense her easygoing friend had become with the arrival of the now-named stranger.

"You're with them?" Gokudera suddenly demanded as he marched forward, all too cocky with his mug of coffee still grasped by the handle in one hand, other fisted at his side.

Both Kaylin and Yamamoto tensed further, sharing a semi-panicked glance.

"Hn?" The narrow-eyed boy, Hibari Kyouya, gave the irate green-eyed boy the same level of concern one might give a particularly average-sized insect.

Yamamoto tried to warn him, his usual cheer entirely replaced with a wariness that made Kaylin's stomach clench and fingers twitch.

"Wait, Gokudera, that's - "

"This is the Vongola family's new base," the clueless mafioso growled, like the quiet warning yowl of a tomcat before a fight broke out.

"'Family?'" The elder boy murmured, not even considering being intimidated. "What kind of gathering is that supposed to be?" If anything, he seemed marginally bemused, which, of course, rubbed young Hayato in entirely the wrong way. His temper rapidly flared.

"Gathering? Enough already, get lo - "

There was a nearly imperceptible movement in Hibari Kyoya's shoulders. In the same instant that light arked in a vicious upward swipe, Gokudera was yanked backwards. Ceramic shattered on the ground.

**/\/\/\/**

_**3rd person, Hibari Kyouya**_

He had honestly just planned on taking a nap to pass the time, but this turn of events would work, too. He wasn't distraught in the least that a few of his henchmen in the Disciplinary Committee seem to have been beaten into unconsciousness. It was their own faults for being weak, after all.

And since his plans had only been to relieve boredom, anyways, he wasn't even particularly irritated to see that this had taken place in the room he intended to claim his own for his nap. Biting a few meddlesome herbivores to death would help well enough to ease the tedium of the afternoon. And it seemed they were eager to be cut down to size.

He struck at the most arrogant of the "family," - whatever kind of group that was. Just to startle him, really. Unless he was angered or in a bad mood prior, he did have something of a habit of playing with his prey. Call it a character flaw.

Another character flaw, though he'd never admit it himself (or deny it, really), was his own pride and arrogance. He didn't imagine that he'd have to pay any particular kind of attention to catch the movements of some strange female - even if he had seen her move quite quickly before. Before she had only dodged a single strike. Not nearly enough to _really_ catch his attention.

He had seen her coming, of course. He expected them to try attacking him at the same time, as weaker creatures tend to do when frightened. It seemed he slightly underestimated her, though. Instead of attacking and being consequently struck down, she did something relatively less self-destructive. Rather than moving within his reach, she got as close as she dared and _yanked_ her comrade backwards and away from Hibari.

He wore a pleasantly surprised smirk as the red stranger uncurled her fingers from the fabric of the herbivore's shirt. Though the expression on Kyouya looked nothing but menacing.

Hibari Kyouya hummed, completely shifting his focus to the girl. This may well serve to be entertaining, after all, he considered.

"You little -" The silver-haired herbivore snarled as he moved forward and reeled his fist back.

"_Oi!_" The red girl snapped. She might have pulled him back again, but in the next moment Kyouya easily stepped aside from the boy's swing and struck him across the head with his tonfa. He was thrown into the arm of a couch, and he slumped. He had barely qualified as a light snack.

The girl hissed something that Kyouya would have guessed was a curse, though he couldn't understand it. Not that he cared enough to want to. Already his fingers were twitching to reach for his other tonfa.

Though, it seemed the other herbivore wanted to be bitten to death before her.

Hibari was vaguely amused when the taller boy hurried forward and put an arm in front of the girl and guided her a few steps back. He was even more amused at the affronted look on her face.

"Kei-chan, he's -" The boy started.

The red one snapped, "_Dangerous,_ I know! So _you_ step back and let me -"

Kyouya's tonfa flashed centimeters away from her face and both she and the other herbivore jerked apart to get space between themselves and the swipe of the weapon.

Hibari's smirk was predatory. He said, "I'll honor your pointless chivalry by biting you to death first, then."

The head prefect was _fast_. He surged toward the male and aimed a blow right for his face. Hibari only smirked again when the boy dodged. Barely. The red one was certainly more surprised by this show of reflexes than he was. Shocked, even, considering she didn't step in even after Kyouya continued raining swipe after swipe on her companion.

The prefect's smirk widened as he hummed. "You're fast." Of course Hibari was holding back. This was fun. He didn't even slow down his attacks when he continued, "But you're guarding your right side. Are you in the baseball club?" The boy's eyes widened and Kyouya's teeth flashed in his slight grin as he secured an opening.

The girl cursed again, seeing it, too. But Hibari was between the two and she wasn't fast enough to do anything about the merciless kick to the baseball player's stomach that sent him sprawling over onto one of the couches. The prefect's smirk didn't fade as he turned to the last herbivore.

"You look angry," he mused. The comment seemed to incense her further.

"Mostly at myself," she muttered, eyeing her fallen friends with a grimace.

"Don't be." He moved into a loose ready stance. "You couldn't have protected them, anyways. I'd have just cut you down, first." To his slight consternation, though, the girl put on a wry smirk of her own. Her right foot slid back into her own stance, not shying away from combat, at all.

"If I offer to just take my friends and leave, would you let me go without a fight?" She tried.

Kyouya tightened his grip on his tonfa, eyes glinting in anticipation.

"No."

**/\/\/\/**

_**1st person, Kaylin**_

It was clear with the first two rapid swings of his tonfa that this "Hibari" guy was trouble. What was also clear was that I was going to be hard-pressed to win in a situation where I could hardly fight back.

Or rather, what would even count as a win in this situation?! Both Gokudera and Yamamoto were out, and Tsuna would wake up sooner or later. Meaning, my current goal was to protect Tsuna. Okay, yeah, that would count as a win.

But, again, I _couldn't fight back._ Not in any kind of effective way! This guy hit so damn hard that I had to have complete accuracy in deflecting his blows lest I get a _serious_ bruise. Or broken bone.

I skipped back to avoid another swipe at my head (seriously, rude.)

"You're not as fast as the baseball player." _Swipe._ "But you don't need to be. It seems like you know how to fight."

I didn't respond. I was too busy avoiding unnecessary damage. He aimed the end of his tonfa at my face in a scarily fast strike. I shoved his arm to the inside, making sure I stayed out of the range of his other arm.

Of course he smirked and took advantage of the position to aim a sidekick right at my chest. Even though I was quick enough to jump backwards, I wasn't quite quick enough, so I had no choice but to block this one. I crossed my arms in front of me and let them absorb the shock of the blow, and I skidded backwards.

I_ thought_ I had grimaced, because that _fucking hurt that'll be a hell of a bruise in the shape of school slipper tread_, until Hibari smirk widened again in vague amusement.

He remarked, "Oh? Could it be that you're enjoying this, too?"

My eyes widened, and he had the grace enough to pause his flurry of attacks. Turns out I wore more of a snarl of a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied. An animal part of me that I try to kick into submission seemed to be rearing its head in the face of someone so much like a...predator. A tingling sense of danger that I had long since stopped being afraid of.

"That makes me wonder," he ignored my denial as he pulled out another tonfa from somewhere, and I tensed, "why you're holding back."

I didn't have time to even grit my teeth before he was on me again, this time much faster than before.

"Again, I don't know what you're talking - !"

He interrupted my false assertion with a swipe at my face. "I'll force it out off you, then." He spun and arced out his foot and followed up with another arc of light from his tonfa, of which I had to skip _the fuck_ out of the way, because I couldn't block that without damage.

_What the fuck does he think this is?!_

I stopped trying to argue and focused on dodging. Again, my methods of attack were countering or murder, and one of those was out of the question from the get-go. The problem was that this guy left few openings for countering. Someone of this caliber would normally be an enemy mafioso that I would have been allowed to kill. Anyone of a lower combat prowess I cold disarm or incapacitate with what little mixed martial arts I knew.

This boy was not an enemy mafioso, nor was he some mook I could just bitchslap into place.

Hence my problem of inaction. If I wanted this to end I'd have to incapacitate him _somehow, _and he clearly won't stop if I ask nicely.

_Think. Think._

_Assess:_

(I dodged on autopilot. I vaguely noticed his eyes narrow when my face blanked.)

_Threat: immediate. Lethal measures restricted. Use of force limited._

_Possible solution: disarmament by dislocation._

(I sidestepped to the left of a right hook with the butt of his tonfa, my fringe losing a few hairs to the force and proximity of the punch to my face.)

_Remain close to the side of assailant's body. Grab extended wrist at carpals tightly and take hold of the shoulder._

(I bent my body to avoid a counter punch to my face from his free arm.)

_Take wrist and_

_pull._

This time Hibari moved away, examining his dislocated wrist almost curiously. I savored the reprieve from the fast-pace speed match. He tested the movement of the affected hand, which was clearly off.

"Hn," he muttered. And then for the first time in that encounter, his expression came close to a _glare_, which set my hackles up. "That hurt."

And then the crazy bastard gave his tonfa a _death grip, anyways, because what else would a sane person do with a dislocated wrist._

I clicked my tongue and got into a more solid stance. What the fuck did Reborn want me to do?! I had to defend Tsuna, obviously, but with an antagonist like him, it was only a matter of time before I got hurt and then he got to Tsuna and that would be _bad_ because Tsuna's terrified of stuff like this and -

Just when I least needed it, a groggy voice and fuzzy head popped up over the back of a sofa in my peripheral vision and my attention snapped over to the waking Tsuna.

"Wh-what? Eh?! What happened?! Gokudera-kun? Yamamoto!" His frantic eyes landed on distracted me. "Kayli - !" His eyes suddenly darted to the right and I only noticed too late Hibari having no mercy on his distracted opponent, and he viciously drove the end of his tonfa into my ribs.

Searing pain blinded me and I didn't even notice myself fly backwards and into a wall. I could only feel a deep, deep burn travel up my throat and obstruct my windpipe as I slumped down. I could only see the burning red I coughed up, on the floor, on myself. Every gasp burned and every exhale brought more red acid out of my body, where it needed to be.

I could feel the transparent flames in me flare crackle furiously, and focus, another hot liquid to burn through me. They fought desperately against something horribly wrong with my lungs and my sternum. I couldn't manage any focus on my surroundings; only on my immediate crisis.

The crisis of bits of my lungs apparently crushed to mush.

And being on the ground in front of me.

The pain. It was like -

I shut down.

_Assess: Repair_

**/\/\/\/**

_**3rd person, omniscient**_

Tsuna felt bile rise in his throat when he heard the crunch of the impact of Hibari Kyouya's tonfa on Kaylin's chest. She slammed into the wall and Tsuna's head spun when a terrifying amount of blood was forcefully expelled from her mouth, covering the floor as well as herself. She wasn't even unconscious! Her eyes were wide and it seemed like she was struggling desperately for breath.

He wasn't awake to see what had happened to Gokudera or Yamamoto. Of course, thank Kami that they didn't seem to be hurt as badly as Kaylin was, but -

"Hmph. Getting distracted by her group makes her weak," the Committee Head remarked.

Tsuna's eyes snapped to look at Hibari. A heart-stopping dread made him dizzy and tense when the dangerous boy slid his gaze over to him. Tsuna felt a shameful relief when Kyouya scoffed and turned to look at his two closest victims, Gokudera and Yamamoto.

"Crowded..." He mumbled.

Tsuna's relief turned to fear again when the prefect easily hefted the two unconscious boys up by their collars. The fear turned to panic as he watched Hibari drag them in the direction of the window.

The frightened thirteen year-old startled himself when he spoke up, scrambling over the back of the couch clumsily, desperately glancing back to Kaylin. "W-wait! What are you going to do?!"

Hibari didn't glance back. "Take out the trash." He proceeded to prop them over the window ledge.

Tsuna's panic intensified to a degree that made his knees shake. He didn't notice another rising feeling, however. Underlying the fright, a small kindling of something between rage and protectiveness.

Apparently, however, a heretofore hidden infant noticed.

He squeakily intoned like some spell, "Save them yourself with your dying will."

And a shot that Tsuna had yet to not be surprised by rang out.

And he died.

And then he cried, _"Leon! Come!" _Following the just budding authority of the Decimo and Reborn's silent assent, Leon leapt to Tsuna and shapeshifted into, of all things, a house slipper. Tsuna didn't care. An immediate, all-encompassing need to keep his friends from being thrown out the window filled up every part of him.

_"You idiot!" _And he quickly, precisely, and somehow ironically slapped Hibari in the back of the head like a grandmother would an errant child.

There was an all-encompassing pause like an intake of breath, where nothing moved, save for Tsuna's heaving chest.

Until Hibari's fingers loosened from the boy's collars, and he slowly turned to Tsuna with an unreadable expression on his face, half hidden by a disshelved fringe.

The bodies of his friends began to slip, however, and Tsuna didn't spare him a second glance as he single-mindedly shouted, _"Save Yamamoto and Gokudera!"_ and grabbed their collars himself with a strength he would normally never possess. His furious mind couldn't process anything but keeping the two from falling, and his back was left exposed for a rather peeved Hibari Kyouya.

Said carnivore smirked in an eerily false way, and, continuing to ignore his hurt wrist, gripped both tonfa with white knuckles. He took his time and took half a step forward and raised his left arm, completely prepared to strike his target's exposed back and sending all three of the herbivores tumbling three stories out the window. Reborn watched on.

He tensed to strike like a panther coiling all his muscles for a killing pounce.

Then, a flash

of red

And his tonfa _crushed_ down on a pair of crossed forearms with an audible _crack._

The red-head's sudden resurgence surprised even Hibari, who raised his eyebrows and uttered a bland "Wow."

Cold, frozen steel pierced his own onyx eyes with their stare, and not even Hibari would deny the rush of adrenalin that spiked up his spine and around in his blood.

A young panther and a wounded wolf stared each other down, waiting for blood.

Hibari was _excited._

"I'm sure I fractured your ribs," he ventured, voice decievingly even.

Kaylin didn't blink, though her chest heaved.. "You did."

Neither moved.

"And I just broke at least one of your arms," he pointed out.

"One of your wrists is dislocated," she countered, ignoring how lame the comeback was.

Hibari huffed something less than a laugh. "At the moment, your tenacity is much more monstrous than mine." He pressed down harder with his tonfa, making the bones in Kaylin's arm creak sickeningly. She finally grimaced, and something undeniably dangerous began to seep into her eyes, and Hibari only smirked wider.

Finally, he seemed to have found someone who could entertain him in a fight. Someone who he could beat down again and again. Perhaps, if he could provoke her out of whatever useless reasons for holding back, eventually she could be a challenge. Eventually -

"Yes, yes, you're both quite the monsters," a squeaky voice piped up from the side. When neither teen broke eye-contact, Reborn, with quite some force, kicked Hibari's arm up and off of Kaylin's, forcing the prefect a step backwards. The hitman deftly landed on Kaylin's shoulder, not without noticing her minute wince or shaking arms.

"I hate to ruin your fun, but we'll have to call this scrap to an end." He ignored the ferocious side-long stare from the American girl.

"Hn. I don't know who you are, but I'm very invested in biting her to death, right now." Hibari said, not intending to heed the infant. That is, until the noxiously tense air fizzled out with the sudden sound of suspicious crackling and snapping.

"You really need to learn how to handle a break-up gracefully," Reborn quipped.

Then quietly, to a suddenly panicking Kaylin, he ordered, "Jump out the window."

She didn't hesitate _for a second_ and turned on her heel and leapt over the windowsill with a renewed vigor from yet another burst of adrenalin, just soon enough to escape the concussive blast of the dynamite Reborn had lit and tossed between the new Vongola family and Hibari exploded and propelled _everyone_ out the window.

Red hair whipping out above her and lush green bushes approaching below her, Kaylin cursed Reborn, cursed Hibari, cursed herself, and continued cursing anything and everything that went through her mind until she crash-landed into the shrubbery and finally lost consciousness.

**/\/\/\/**

_**1st person, Kaylin**_

The first thing I noticed was someone calling my name. Then I felt the pain shoot straight down from my shoulder to my right forearm.

I gasped and blindly threw a left hook to the area above my arm. I heard a yelp, and _then_ flew upright and looked around. I blinked when I saw Tsuna holding his cheek and nearly laughed at the surprised look on his face until another wave of pain made me hold back another gasp.

I finally looked down at my arm a -

**"...Well fuck,"**__I muttered. No wonder it fucking hurts. It was still broken.

That was... concerning. Then I remembered why it wouldn't have healed, yet -

And then I remembered the blood all over my shirt.

I was outta goddamn juice.

"_K-Kaylin! _A-are you okay - of course you're not, you spat up so much _blood._ How did you even get up after that?! And you're arm - aren't you supposed to heal really fast or something ? - "

_Thwap._

Tsuna yelped again as he held his head, staring at Reborn with wide, frantic eyes.

"Shut up, already, Baka-Tsuna. She'll explain what she wants to explain when she wants to." Reborn turned his unreadable look to me, almost definitely assessing and calculating many things at once, and silently _suggesting_ something.

I looked at my arm again. It was swollen and angrily bruised, and, again, _definitely still broken_. I felt several scratches all over myself, and looked over my shoulder at the bush I must have landed in. I gingerly touched my back and backside with my good arm, and noticed what felt like fading bruises.

"Fuck. I haven't been this beat up in - " I skipped a beat, " - a while." My throat tightened but I dismissed the feeling immediately.

I tried taking a deep breath when Tsuna spoke up again. "And how are you okay from that fall? Leon turned into a parachute and floated the three of us down - K-Kaylin?!" A hacking cough interrupted him, racking through my whole body and making me double over, fighting for breath.

Fuckin' Christ, okay, bad idea.

Tsuna flailed some until I recovered some, clearly at a loss as of what to do.

I shallowly sucked in a rattling breath, not at all liking the sound.

"No more deep breaths, got it, roger that." I held my head in my good hand, exhausted. **"Fucking hell..."** I breathed.

"Kaylin, are - what's wrong? Should we get you to the infirmary?"

_"No!"_

Tsuna straightened back, taken aback by my sudden shout, but quickly motherhenned some more when I coughed again.

"No, I'll - this'll fix itself."

"B-but..."

"It'll heal," I snapped. I averted my eyes and relented, "Eventually..."

I suddenly remembered something. I looked around frantically for Gokudera and Yamamoto, but didn't see them anywhere.

Tsuna must have noticed my slight panic, and quickly reassured me, "Ah, if it's those two, Reborn sent them ahead to the infirmary."

I was very relieved - for several reasons. "Are they okay?" I asked Reborn.

Reborn answered, "They've only got bruises and scrapes. You should worry about yourself."

Tsuna kept a hand on my shoulder as he snapped, "It's your fault this happened, anyway! You expected all that to happen!"

_At least he's not dense,_ I thought absently. _Or he's just gotten to know Reborn._

...Both, I hoped.

"I did," Reborn readily admitted, causing Tsuna to gape at the audacity and me to grit my teeth. "It was clearly a gamble," the infant eyed my arm and the blood on my shirt. "A gamble with a variety of outcomes, all of which I've prepared for."

Okay, what?

Before Tsuna could should something naggy, Reborn addressed me again.

"I do need you to see medical aid, Kaylin."

I tensed. "Reborn, if a doctor sees me heal like I do, or my - " I cut myself off and forced myself not to glance at Tsuna. "No civilian can see how I am, you know that."

And then I got a nagging suspicion, just as the last few words left my mouth. Tsuna just looked lost and was waiting for an explanation.

Reborn gave the impression that he wanted to sigh. "You're right, of course, that a civilian doctor shouldn't see to your treatment." _My treatment? He knows I heal on my own. _The hitman paused, hands behind his back. "I had honestly planned on calling him over here a little later, but considering the plan I had play out today, as well as certain circumstances, I called in an extra favor and gave a little incentive and had him come sooner than we had initially agreed."

"Him?" Tsuna echoed, suspicion beginning to creep over his face.

I frowned. "An underground doctor? There are plenty of those already in Japan."

"Ah, kitten, but the _best _had to fly in from _Italia_ on short notice," a tenor voice startled both Tsuna and me and we turned, me stumbling, to see a...doctor?

Reborn chatted, "Sorry about that."

The man in a white overcoat scoffed. "No, you're not."

"You're not wrong."

I interrupted the pointless banter, "Reborn, who is he?" I asked lowly.

The man blinked and raised his chin. "I am - "

"This is Tridant Shamal. A specialty hitman and a good enough doctor."

'Shamal's eye twitched. "Oi! I'm the best in my profession!"

Tsuna seemed primed and ready with his characteristic skepticism, but I really wasn't in the mood to let this play out as Reborn had apparently planned.

"Reborn, I don't need his _treatment._ I'll heal on my own." I struggled to keep my tone even.

The infant was unfazed by my poorly hidden anger. "Are you sure about that?"

My eyes snapped wide. _He wouldn't dare!_

"Eh?" Tsuna looked between Shamal and me, but I refused to meet his eyes. I was too busy internally panicking and shooting Reborn the harshest stare I could muster from underneath the mounting fight-or-flight response.

"Reborn - " I was cut off.

"I sent Gokudera and Yamamoto away for the sake of your privacy. However, Tsuna saw you grievously injured. Now seems like the best time to tell him a few things." There was a threat there, and I nearly bared my teeth.

"So you put me under a fucking spot light?! I'm _fine!_" I really was panicking, to snap at the world's greatest hitman like that.

"Wait, wait," Shamal interrupted what was about to be a likely dangerous argument, though he didn't seem to actually notice the tension. "You mean nobody knew about her but you?" He addressed Reborn.

"I had initially given her the freedom of her own discretion after she told me herself."

"As if I had a choice," I muttered. Reborn surely heard, but didn't deny it.

"Wait, I have no idea what's going on!" Tsuna suddenly spoke up, sounding pleading. "Kaylin," I couldn't make myself face him, "it sounds like something is really wrong - not just your broken arm, b-but all of that blood..." He hesitated. "I-I don't know any of your circumstances, but, you're being offered treatment. I - shouldn't you accept...?" He trailed off, not knowing what to say.

I cradled my arm to my chest, trying and failing to hide a wince. I opened and closed my mouth, while everyone waited for a response. My voice was quiet, and directed at Tsuna. I kept my eyes on my shoes.

"...Are you worried?"

Tsuna's response startled me so badly I jumped and jostled my arm. I snapped my head up to stare at him with wide eyes.

"Of _course_ I am!" He - he looked angry? I gaped dumbly. "Look at yourself! You help me all the time, but you're not willing to accept it from others when you really need it? What's with that?!"

I nearly shrank away from the force of his sudden emotions. Where did this even come from? I somehow felt like the four inches I had on Tsuna didn't matter much.

Seeing my face, Tsuna's own eyes widened and he relented nearly full-stop. But then he looked me square in the eyes with that _look_ he only got on occasion, that one of silent resolve.

"I don't know what it is, but I can tell something's...wrong. I can tell you're strong, but you don't have any stamina. You're really pale a lot of the time. You seem like you're used to being able to do _more,_ too." He was losing steam, but my attention was completely on his words. "I-if, if you're sick, or something - if that's what you haven't told anyone about - I think - I think you should let that guy help you..." And he completely trailed off.

All of that emotion just worked itself into a series of words that I never expected from the timid Tsuna. Or anyone, really.

I'd thought, subconsciously and consciously, that my _sickness_ was just _my _problem. My problems had always been taken care of by me, until that time I was broken out of _that place._ But even after that, I had acted like it was just me.

Only me. Just tagging along temporarily in someone else's adventure, only doing this for myself, though I admit I was getting emotionally attached...I thought it was just me.

It was always just me.

And now Tsuna, who was going to be my professional superior, who'd _said_ he'd thought of me as a friend...

Mother of shit, I was so intensely out of my element I could barely breathe.

I realized I had been wordlessly staring, wide-eyed at Tsuna for several seconds too long when he stuttered, "K-Kaylin?" He honestly looked like I was about to snap.

I felt myself flush as I quickly looked over to the two men who had silently let this play out. Shamal looked vaguely bored, but Reborn looked...somehow satisfied?

All of that - that _caring_ had left me speechless, and quite honestly flustered, and a glued my eyes to the ground again.

I scrambled to find words. "I - Um." I gingerly brushed my unhealed arm with my fingertips and desperately tried to hid my face with my thankfully loose fringe.

"...Okay," I breathed.

**/\/\/\/**

**A\N:**

**Well, that was a long time coming. And a long time writing. Like, the hype for that Undertale pun up top has already faded. A lot of stuff has been happening in life, but I promise I'm not abandoning this! A lot of my ideas come and go and stall and just fizzle out, but this one, at the very least, I'm committed to. Kaylin's grown on me, you know?**

**Also, this was shorter than I intended, but. Hey. Gotta post something, yeah?**

**I don't even know if I like this chapter, the end, especially. I rewrote it twice, and the Hibari scene had to switch POV's because I needed, I dunno, incentive?**

**Anyways, feedback is welcome (begged for) (shut up).**

**PS: How 'bout that Tsuna/Kaylin fluff, huh?! I don't think I'll pair them, but that kinda just happened by itself, so.**


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